Scrutinizing Mind
by My Golden Wings
Summary: After the events in the Citadel of Bone, shouldn't Gibson, the analytical mind he is, have wondered why Skeleton King had Chiro's toys? Rated T for violence and some mild language.
1. Catalyst

Disclaimer: I, My Golden Wings, do not own SRMTHFG.

... I was feeling paranoid.

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><p><em>Should I tell Antauri? No, he will probably instruct me to ask Chiro about it if I want to know. But it was... disturbing. Perhaps I should apprise him. He may present me with some intelligence on the matter. He is the most sagacious of us all. But what if he doesn't? Even he might be worried after he learns of the situation. Though of the most lucid mind, we all know how much he cares about Chiro...<em>

Gibson went about his lab as usual, but his mind was distracted by the events a few days ago in the Citadel of Bone, and especially by what he and Chiro found. He didn't have the time to let it sink in at first. He supposed Skeleton King required them as components for another one of his malicious schemes, but the more he thought about it the more disturbing it seemed.

_... Perhaps it's nothing to be worried about in the first place. It no longer matters since it all has to do with the past, correct? I simply was ill prepared to see it. Yet, I can't help but wonder, for what purpose would he have Chiro's old toys and school uniform?_

Gibson paced for a while longer before turning on the vent in the congested lab and leaving to spend some time in the main room and take a reprieve from his mind's endless scrutinizing.

"How can we be sure he's gone? It's not like any of us actually saw that old Bone-Bag kick the bucket..." Gibson heard none other than the pessimistic voice of Sparx as he flew down his tube.

"I fear you are correct. I can sense vile forces out there that feel all too familiar; He may have survived, unfortunately," replied Antauri.

"I would present the odds, however, we all know, from our own experiences, that even a minute percent is all one needs for an event to occur in their favor and in this instance it may have occurred in Skeleton King's," Gibson added, making himself known to the room's occupants.

However, as a response to Gibson's pronouncement, befuddled expressions cast across the faces of several monkeys.

"I simply meant that, even with such a small possibility of escape, the fact that we that we did not witness Skeleton King's demise means he could still be out there."

Comprehension finally dawned in Sparx's and Otto's faces.

Just then, Chiro and Nova came down their tubes, rubbing their eyes, having clearly woken up in the past few minutes and desiring more rest.

"Good Morning. Did you two sleep well?"

"Now, I think you know the answer to that Antauri," Chiro yawned, "I fell asleep quickly but I had the strangest dreams..." He trailed off with a faraway look in his eyes then shook his head an infinitesimal amount.

"Alright everyone, Skeleton King is not our main threat anymore so I think we ought to leave Shuggazoom for a little while and see what we can do for the rest of the universe." This jolted everyone into alertness.

"B-but Chiro-" "What? And where exactly in the universe are we going to go?-" "Ohhh, a trip!-"

"Actually, this might be the right action to take," Antauri stated, and Gibson could see an inconspicuous yet unmistakeable look of pride on his face, "But for today let us enjoy ourselves and our relative peace."

Everyone nodded in agreement and set off to go about their business, but Gibson hastened up to Antauri and asked to speak with him before the two of them ascended to his room.

"Now, what seems to be the matter, Gibson?"

"W-well, Chiro and I, while scouring the Citadel for all of you, uh, stumbled upon some, um, unsettling articles..."

"Such as?"

_Oh dear..._

"We found ourselves in a room filled with toys and a uniform from Chiro's childhood."

"... _What?_"

Gibson nodded solemnly. "I don't know what to make of it. I considered many reasons for why: Was it in search of a weakness? Was it to find out some sort of secret that he could use against him? Threaten him somehow? His family-"

At that moment realization abruptly smacked Gibson in the face. No, not about why Skeleton King had Chiro's toys, but that Chiro never mentioned his family before. And not only that, but for once Antauri did not seem to understand the situation either, which rather unnerved Gibson as usually the wise monkey would have some idea about why everything is the way it is. By now Antauri seemed very on-edge and disquiet, a hand on his chin and his eyebrows scrunched up.

Gibson had not anticipated their conversation to be brief, and so was startled when Antauri promptly ended it with something odd in his voice and ushered him out of his room.

"Thank you, Gibson, for informing me, but would you be so kind as to leave? I have something I need to take care of."

The scientist only took one step when the second-in-command grasped his shoulder.

"Gibson, on your way down could you ask Chiro to meet with me after he has eaten breakfast?"

"Of course."

Antauri quickly turned back into his room. Gibson caught a glimpse of his distressed teammate roughly depositing himself on the floor, a hand partially covering his face, before the automatic door slid closed.

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><p>AN

Today, March 30/31 (just turned midnight), marks the day I discovered this show one year ago.

I write it as SpARx instead of SpRx because I end up pronouncing it as "SpERx"

I don't know how to write sagacious dialogue so I don't know if Antauri sounds very eloquent (I think I swallowed the thesaurus). I wanted everyone to sound exactly the way they do in the show.

Also, because your reviews made this one of the best days I've had in long time (I grinned nearly all day, Thank you all so much!) I decided I would continue writing this story.


	2. Beneath the Surface, Part 1

A/N

This is only part one of chapter two. I should have the rest up as chapter three within the week. I just got a little bored writing this chapter, it taking so long, so I split up the chapter.

Set after Wonder fun meat world, a few weeks after the hunt for the Citadel of Bone, an event which proved SK's continuing existence.

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><p>Warm, stuffy air filled the spherical lab. Red, grey, and gold chemicals glided and bubbled through twisting tubes, forming gases or coalescing with other substances at the end of their journeys. The one living (blue) entity inhabiting the lab however, showed no sign that he had acknowledged either fact except for involuntarily wrinkling his nose.<p>

Gibson maneuvered mindlessly about his lab, contemplating the conversation he'd had with his second in command several weeks ago and the brusque way he had been dismissed. He had not thought about it in weeks, but he could not ignore the memory any longer. Antauri, quite the cryptic one, had never shown to act so peculiar-_as if hiding something_.

It was the subtle things-what one only notices when they have lived with a person for many years: the way Antauri would sometimes pause before speaking or his brow furrowed an amount negligible to anyone else but Gibson when the topic of conversation strayed to Chiro. Gibson glowered at the glass apparatus now before him, though not truly seeing it. He needed a way to figure out what the devil was going on: Antauri knew something he did not, something... _heinous_ in nature, and that did not sit well with him.

Finally, the confusion, becoming too immense, burst in his face like spontaneously combusting oil and rounded his focus back to his experiment. At least science was not so mind boggling.

_Perhaps if I add a little silicon… and… yes! _Precisely_ the required reaction. By substituting-_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!-

_Oh for Shuggazoom's sake_

The super robot's alarm blared rudely. Gibson quickly capped off his new alloy and darted into his blue tube. They must have have hit something... or something hit them.

As the elevator transported him to the main room he could not help but think of how current events would have changed had past events occurred differently. What if the auto-crew alarm had not sounded when it had? What information could he have acquired if he had been given an additional minute to question Chiro? Would Chiro have obliged?

He sighed and remembered how Chiro seemed pained thinking about his past. They had just defeated one of SK's formless monsters by sending it into the depths of the Citadel extending hundreds of feet below. They smirked at each other before continuing the search for the missing members of their team with replenished determination and clearer minds. But then the two of them stopped short when their eyes met the sight of a dimly lit room thronged with stuffed animals and figurines. In the very center, lit by an overhead light, in stark contrast to the rest of the dreary cave-like room and demanding their attention, was a young boy's school uniform….

Gibson's sigh was drowned out by the hiss of his tube as it halted. He rushed over to the main control panel, along with Nova and Sparx ("Where's the fire!") also arriving via tube. Upon seeing Chiro's grin and Antauri's mischievous expression Gibson and Nova breathed sighs of relief. Sparx, however, was not amused: Had he not already been red, he surely would have been now.

Once the alarm ceased it's hollering Sparx, baring his teeth, screamed "What the _hell_ was that!" He glared up at the equable computer screen, then went to make a greater fool of himself by yelling some more, but his body jerked forwards and smacked harshly on the floor-

"-ARRRGGGHHH!"

"Eh, sorry Sparx." The team looked past Sparx to see two feet connected to furry, green legs protruding from the base of the control panel.

"Otto was just trying to modify the radio to receive longer distance transmissions." said Chiro, who was struggling to stifle his sniggers.

"Then _what_ did the alarm go off for?" challenged Sparx.

To answer his question Otto crawled out from the control panel, carrying a wrench and two wooden spoons as he rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly.

"Heh, dropped it on a couple o' live wires creating a circuit between the radio and the alarm. I couldn't pull out the wrench without these." He held up the spoons.

"What about some rubber gloves! You've got to have some around here."

"Oops?" said Otto. Sparx threw up his hands.

"Great-!"

"OH, calm _down_!" Nova admonished Sparx, cuffing the back of his head, "You're worse than the alarm! Besides, we've all got better things to do than listen to you scream your head off all day!"

That seemed to have done it because Sparx faltered, then slowly gained control of himself. 'That' being Nova, not her particularly her words.

"Well, that's the end of that, then?" said Gibson hopefully. He had been watching quietly, an unusual action, or lack thereof, for him to take, especially since it was Sparx whom generated the heated incident. In his mind, cogs were turning, though how the thought came to him he was unsure, but maybe...

"Yes," said Antauri, "I do believe we've spent enough time quarreling, let us each go back to our own business."

The team dispersed to other parts of the robot; Antauri journeyed back to his private quarters to recommence his meditation, Nova set off for the training room, and Otto resumed his supine position under the control panel, continuing his attempt to augment the radio as Chiro watched, the two of them jabbering on about possibly unscrewing Sparx's ears as he slept.

Said monkey had decided that the moment called for food and so wandered into the kitchen to find a snack consisting of a squashy, pink, alien fruit and no bananas. Gibson hesitantly entered, wondering if this really was a good idea, and considering the argument that ended not moments ago, it probably wasn't.

"Sparx?"

"Yeah, Brainstrain?" Gibson started and made a feeble attempt to keep his fur from bristling. Sparx caught it anyway, but before he could voice the _lack_ of annoyance Gibson carried on.

"I was wondering what you know about Chiro," he said bluntly. This was not what Sparx had expected from him considering his sudden change in demeanor.

"What's with the sudden question?" Sparx asked, eyeing Gibson suspiciously.

"I am entitled to be curious, Sparx."

"Well, sure but, I mean, He's been with us for… what? Nine months? What could I know about him that you don't?"

"_Do_ you know anything that I do not?" The scientist couldn't believe he had just asked that of the brash pilot.

"What? The all-knowing Brainiac thinks I know something that he doesn't?"

"Perhaps I do, _Sparky_!" Gibson said quite loudly, "Are you going to go clucking around Shuggazoom announcing it? Hoping anyone and everyone hears?"

"_Clucking_! At least I can hold an audience! You bore everyone ta death within the first two minutes of your lectures! Not even Antuari can stand listening ta you drawl!"

"I do not drawl! I speak with utmost interest-!"

Just then, bursting forth from the depths of the robot, came a furious, resounding roar.

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP ALREADY! THE WALLS AREN'T SOUND PROOF FOR SHUGGAZOOM'S SAKE!"

They were quiet for a minute, Nova's voice ringing in their ears. Irked, Sparx took an exasperated bite out of his fruit. Gibson fidgeted a little, shifting his weight between his feet, worried that Chiro might have heard him. A wave of relief passed through him when he saw from the edge of the kitchen that Chiro and Otto were no longer in the control room.

Looking back at Sparx, Gibson noticed an expression of unprecedented thought on his face; His brows were furrowed slightly, his eyes focused on something that was not in front of him. From this, Gibson extracted one answer from Sparx- that he did, in fact, know something he did not.

"Alright," Gibson said more somber than before, "Sparx, what is it you know about Chiro?" Sparx glared at him.

"I'm tellin' you, it's nothin' you need to know about!" he hissed, steam nearly shooting out his ears. A vein pulsed in Gibson's temple: He had hoped to avoid such a ridiculous confrontation, however, it always seemed to come to that whenever they found themselves in the same room.; Only this time, Gibson had been the one to spur the argument. He briefly considered leaving and asking another occasion, it wasn't, after all, the most pressing matter at the present time, but his annoyance, and his need to surpass Sparx, held him there along with the part of his heart that wanted to actually help Chiro with his knowledge, if indeed help was needed. Gibson persisted:

"Stop making such a fuss! I only asked you a question!"

"A pointless one!"

"If you believe it to be pointless then you are thicker than I thought."

"What do you-!"

"Let me explain for just one moment why I felt it imperative to ask you!"

"Fine. Go ahead." Sparx shut his mouth, his gaze lingering on Gibson, whom took his teammate's silence as a sign to continue.

"I have been… observing Chiro. From what I can tell he may be hiding something from us… and it may have something to do with his past….I want to _help_ him. Help our team….But I need to know- _we_ need to know- more about Chiro, and he needs to know more about us."

"Why the sudden concern?"

"I've just been noticing a few things."

"Like what?"

"Sparx." Gibson was beginning to feel exasperated himself. How stubborn could he possibly be? "How about I promise that I will reveal what I know to you when the time is right; When it cannot hurt or confuse anyone." He hoped Sparx would accept that.

To Gibson's relief, Sparx, for the most part, relaxed, casually leaning against the countertop behind him, but maintaining a stoic face.

"… You really are trying to figure out something important here, huh? And it has nothing to do with your experiments?"

"Nothing."

"Well, look, I-I may not be one for making promises," Sparx's spoke, his voice slightly shaky, "but, well, I did promise the kid that I wouldn't blab about it to anyone…."

"You may find later that you are helping him more than you know now."

There was a long pause as Sparx held Gibson's gaze. It bore a little more understanding than the usual looks they sent each other- more kindness, but still holding much back. However, as time moved on the pilot seemed to get nervous, his eyes losing the hard demeanor and becoming a bit more frantic. Gibson felt as though he should have done more research before venturing into rather unknown territory. For a moment he wondered if he should leave now and let his words sink into Sparx's thick head when all of a sudden a dour voice spoke:

"Well, y'know how he was afraid of water but got over it that one mission?" said Sparx. Gibson recalled how Chiro was petrified, particularly in the subway, requesting help with a cracked, defeated voice. "Well, after that I talked to him an' he told me what he thought started it."

_Now we're getting somewhere._

"What did he say?"

Sparx's mouth opened as he hesitated briefly.

"… It's not a very… _glorifying_ story."

He must have felt torn, stalling as he was, between recounting the daunting tale and keeping his loyalty to Chiro. Yet, Gibson felt that the former would honor the latter and pressed on.

"Let's hear it, Sparx."

The monkey shifted for a minute before opting to simply sit down.

"Alright, then," he said, gruffly. "A short time ago, in a land near, near by-"

"_Sparx!_"

"_Fine_ then, but why not ask the kid about it? He's the one you're asking about."

"Do you believe he will enlighten me?" Gibson asked, a knowing look on his face.

Sparx obviously did not believe so, because he sat back once again with a _humph_. The battle had been won.

"It started when he was in school, hiding somewhere, camouflaged…"

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><p>AN

Updated: December 29/30 (just turned midnight… why is it always midnight?…)

We really didn't get anywhere in this chapter, did we? Ah, well, you'll like the next part better. Anyway, this story will probably be nothing like what I was thinking a year and a half ago when I first came up with this.

Should I be brutally honest? I don't like SRMTHG nearly as much as when I posted the first chapter. However, I do like writing and I will try to finish this fic. (It is a good thing I worked rigorously on this at some point over the summer.)(Maybe I should re-watch some of the episodes, get myself back in the mood.)

You know what? I am chatting too much… perhaps I'm just a little too excited by the fact that people actually like the way I write….


	3. Beneath the Surface, Part 2

A/N

...Finally...finished... this... Monkey Doodle... chapter... *GAAASP*

Warning: non-recurring OCs

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><p>Dark, grey clouds clogged the sky and cast the metropolis below in a dull, dreary grey light. Sleet covered the sidewalks and windows-causing many a pedestrian to slip and break a nose, or even a tailbone. The people of Shuggazoom could hardly stand the cold, rarely having to face it on their habitually warm planet. If it had to be this cold it might as well have snowed, but the last snowfall had long past.<p>

Despite the chill, the Shuggazoomian children had trudged their way to school. After several hours of listening to lectures about things they did not care about-like math, ergh-they were let out for lunch, some of them glad for the change of weather-the boy of whom this story is about was not one of those children.

No, the scrawny boy sat crouched between two trash bins hastily eating the pitiful, soggy sandwich he had snuck out from the cafeteria. He watched several pieces of rubbish tumble by in the wind blowing harshly through the dark, polluted alley. This was the only place he could remain without being disturbed, seeing as no one wanted to brave the soot and the foul stench that would take days to vanish from their noses.

The bell rang and Chiro sulkily made his way out of the alley-but he didn't make it; As soon as he had gotten to the end his arm was violently twisted behind his back and a force blew out his knees; His front collided with the ground, his nose hitting with a sharp _snap_!

"Well, look who's here!"

Twisting to the side Chiro came face-to-face with a muscular teenager whose chemical green eyes burning with chaotic glee. Panic abruptly surged throughout Chiro's tiny body.

"L-let me g-go, A-Aqil," Chiro stuttered, his nose dripping blood, "Please!"

Aqil stood up, bringing Chiro with him, and gestured to two other figures; one a lanky redhead, the other the shape of a potato.

"Hear that BT? Glenny? The worthless freak wants me to let 'im go!"

BT and Glenny chortled.

Chiro desperately wanted to tell the lot of them to prove their strength by picking on someone their own size instead of ganging up on one person half their weight and age, but it was that very fact that made him scared of saying it.

"Let's play a game then, huh? How's about some baseball?" Aqil said, in a tone that clearly meant that playing would be less than fun, as he pulled a baseball bat from behind his back and wagged it in Chiro's face.

But fate, it seemed, wished to get Chiro's hopes up: A teacher, who looked as skinny as a stick and had a face as hard as one, was jogging in a beeline toward the group. Aqil noticed as well, thrusting a cloth in Chiro's hand and giving him a pointed look. Chiro hurriedly wiped the blood off from under his nose. Aqil placed the arm holding the bat down by his side and his other hand on the back of Chiro's neck, out of the teacher's sight, and dug his digits into Chiro's flesh.

"Mr. Fordon! _What on Shuggazoom are you doing to that poor boy_?" she screeched.

"Just showin' him a good time, Mrs. Benneth."

"Oh, _really_? Since when do you hang around with _eight-year-olds_?" Her piercing gaze softened a bit as she directed her next question at Chiro. "Are you alright?"

Aqil's hand tightened on his neck, warning him that their next meeting would be much worse if he did not lie. Chiro's heartbeat quickened and the thumping was so loud he was surprised no one else heard it.

"I'm alright," Chiro said, flinching slightly as a string of pain flared down his spine, "Why wouldn't I be?" Mrs. Benneth did not look convinced.

"Why are you holding that baseball bat?" she asked, her eyes narrowing viciously at Aqil.

"As I said, Mrs. Benneth, we were going to go off and have some fun, play a little ball," Aqil replied, falsely innocent. But it was his next words that shook Chiro to the core. "And this here bat makes for the perfect _swing_. Just thought it'd be nice to _test it out_. Get in a few good _hits_ by sixth period."

Mrs. Benneth appeared not to have noticed the way Aqil punctuated certain words, merely pursing her lips as though she had tasted something sour. Her eyes narrowed further.

"You had better get on to class before I report you to the office for cutting-" She began, but stopped short, her eyes widening slightly as she stared dead center at Chiro's face. Adjusting his focus from his heart to his face, Chiro felt something warm running down from his nose-

"_What happened?_"

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><p>Gibson was sitting down now, gaping at Sparx as he told the story. He let out a sigh and realized that he'd been doing that a lot recently. His stomach felt as though it had a brick inside of it; He had not anticipated Sparx to know something so <em>grave<em> about Chiro, nor did ever consider that the caring, albeit intermittently cocky, boy might have had to go through such events in his life.

"How is this associated with Chiro's phobia?" Gibson asked. If the subject had not been so somber then he would have already been frustrated with Sparx for stonewalling rather than simply getting to the point. "And why on Shuggazoom are these boys attacking Chiro!"

"Hold on, I'm getting there," said Sparx. "Yeah, and she dragged them over ta the office. When Chiro got there those school people promised him that he could tell them what was going on- that he'd be protected!" Sparx, suddenly fuming, slammed a fist on the table, knocking over a salt shaker. "And guess what? He believed them! Those dunderheads were suspended, but they weren't happy about it! Why they weren't celebrating like the asses they were? They live at the orphanage! Things weren't looking too great for them once the director found out. Naw, they weren't going to let Chiro off the hook just because they'd been caught! They were gonna make him pay!..."

Sparx rattled on, not noticing that his blue friend was now sitting there aghast nor that the cogs in his head were turning. _All three of them are-are orphans?_

"...'It's all Chiro's fault!' they'd whine like little-"

" A-and . . . Chiro?" Gibson cut in. _Could it be possible?_

"And Chiro what?"

"They're orphans. Is... Chiro?"

Sparx cooled down some, sobered by Gibson's troubling question. He seemed to debate over with himself for a moment before settling on something and sighing, saddened.

"…Don't know. He never said. I-I never asked... I don't think any of us ever asked him anything like that… We were just too caught up in finding our leader-finding the Chosen One…"

* * *

><p>Students hustled through the stuffy hallways, out the double doors and onto the heated pavement, rejuvenated by the mere thought that school was over for the week. What none of them paid attention to was the small boy brushing past them, hoping to make it out before being cornered by people less than pleased with his existence.<p>

Chiro moved swiftly through the streets of Shuggazoom, still shook up over the events of the day and was beginning to second-guess the school officials' words promising safety.

The anxiety fueled him; his pace quickened and his legs moved mechanically, taking him past Mr. Gakslapper's Grill without buying a Hoverburger or acknowledging the owner's greeting, and further past Ma and Pa Shenko's arcade. He couldn't think straight anymore: The need to get home took over: The feeling that something dreadful would happen growing stronger with each passing minute.

But then, just as he passed the subway entrance, he saw them: Aqil and his two cronies hunting through the crowd of Shuggazoomians, pushing aside anyone who dared get in their way. The thought to turn around and run the other way did not cross Chiro's mind, for his mind had frozen in an overload of panic.

"There he is!"

The abrupt shout jerked Chiro back to his senses. He about-faced and launched his body back through the crowded thoroughfare. He ran like an impala being chased by a cheetah- for his life, flying through the streets, into traffic, passed startled onlookers and the homeless guy, and in front of a speeding fire engine. He ran without any idea where he was going, but as long as he could get far away from Aqil he did not care where he stopped.

After several fierce, tiring minutes, as he came upon a ramshackle water tower looming ahead, he noticed that the three voices had shed down to one- the voice of Aqil. The fact that he still hadn't been able lose tormentor festered into a wad of doubt. In a desperate attempt to acquire sanctuary, he latched onto the water tower's ladder and clambered up to the imposing mass overhead.

"Get back down here! I wanna finish our little rendezvous!"

The threat, only a dozen rungs below, was gaining on him, but Chiro had no intention of being his victim again and so attempted to climb faster, making his movements clumsy and frantic, slipping every few feet.

After what felt like days, Chiro heaved himself up onto the steel grate platform encircling the water tank. For a brief moment relief filled him, but it was wrenched away when fierce grip snagged his ankle, tripped him and dragged him back towards the platform's edge. Chiro kicked with his other foot, flailing it wildly in hope of causing as much damage as possible to Aqil's ugly mug.

"AAARRRRGGGHHH!"

As he launched his foot into Aqil's face he felt and heard the slim cartilage of a nose snap under his heel. _Nose for a nose_, he thought as he scrambled to his feet and rushed down the platform in a fury. Coming across an ajar door he skid to a halt, and taking just a second to ponder his decision, thrust the door wide open and jumped into the darkness within.

Without warning he shot down into the unknown that suddenly became a shock of bone-chilling water. His wet clothes sloshed and billowed as he desperately clawed his way back to the surface. Spluttering and gasping he desperately felt around for something to cling to. For a second Chiro allowed himself to relax as his fingers slipped around the rungs of a ladder. However, reality, by way of a strong hand, shoved him back under before pulling him back out.

Aqil's face seemed to have come from a horror movie; the blood dripping from his nose and smearing over his chin, his death-dealing glare, his bared teeth. He shook from his rapidly rising hatred.

"It was your fault! Everythin' about my life is _your fault!_"

He abruptly plunged Chiro beneath the water. But he did not stop there. He tugged Chiro out by the hair before sending him back into the piercing cold water. Over and over again with no chance to take a breath.

"AH'LL KILL YA!" Aqil screamed, "Ya won' be able to take anything else from me!" He thrust Chiro back under the surface. Chiro squirmed and writhed, sucking in a harsh lungful of frigid water out of reflex and terror. He was losing it: his chest burning, his vision dimming, his heart painfully screaming out in a never-ending plea for help. His mind drained of all thought apart from the blurry image of a nightmarish figure…and the lifeless bodies strewn about him….

Then, as though fate thought to have mercy on him, the hands fiercely gripping him let go and Chiro burst his way through the surface, throwing up water. Terrified, he thrashed, hoping to prevent Aqil from reclaiming his grip, trying as hard as he could to swim away-

A sudden change in lighting and a resonating slam sent his heart beating into a painful overload-The door had been sealed shut.

"N-no! Let me out! Help! GET ME OUT!" he screamed, growing more hysterical with each passing second. "COME BACK! HELP ME! AQIL!" His lungs seemed to be in his throat. It was pitch-black and freezing cold.

And he had no idea where the door was anymore.

Spluttering and gasping he attempted to stay above the water. He had managed to stay afloat for several minutes when something started pulling at him, trying to drag him into the dark depths of fear. He could feel himself moving through the water- no, _with_ the water- speeding up, moving downward. The water was draining. It was draining and taking Chiro with it, faster and faster, morphing into a swirling vortex hell-bent on drowning Chiro.

_Help me!…help me!…please…help me…._

A crack sounded clearly over the water's raucous, echoing above his head as light poured in around a silhouette. For a second, Chiro wondered if he was going to be spared from further misery and simply be carried off into the hereafter, but the thought disappeared as the figure jumped into the water, one hand clinging to the ladder, and a fleshy hand snatched Chiro's outstretched arm. Chiro instantly fell back into darkness.

Blaring sirens and flashing lights shocked Chiro wide awake. He fumbled a bit with the heavy blue blanket laying over him as he sat up, noting that he was sitting on stretcher. Through the haze clogging his vision he saw police officers swarming about like a horde of bees, conversing with colleagues or shooing off reporters. Several reporters were craning their necks to get a look at a group of officers standing by a rather red-looking patch of ice. Chiro vaguely wondered what was so bad that nearly half the police force was needed.

"…It wasn' our fault!"

Chiro spun around, only to lay eyes on two of his least favorite people speaking with a police officer. Then all at once the events of the water tower came rushing back. He suddenly realized he was shivering.

"We only saw 'im fall!" said Glenny.

The officer rubbed his chin speculatively.

"…must've slipped…probably startled by the sirens…but that other kid…damn it…." he mumbled, then said aloud, "BT, Glenny, I appreciate you telling me what you saw. Thank you. Go on and wait over by the ambulance now. I'll have you taken home soon enough."

The two flunkies turned around somberly, but when they saw Chiro's shaking form their eyes widened and they jumped two feet in the air. They looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"Holy Shuggazoom! He's alive!" screeched BT. "He's back from the dead!" Rephrase: Their expressions clearly showed that they had seen a ghost.

"Don't haunt me!" yelled BT. "Haunt Glenny!"

"No way! Ah've got more to live for!" countered Glenny.

"W-would you guys b-be quiet? I'm not a g-ghost! And I w-won't ever haunt y-you! I'd drive myself insane if I d-did." said Chiro.

The pair seemed very relieved at those words. Then Glenny asked, "Where were you, man?"

"D-drowning up in that t-thing," Chiro stuttered, pointing up at the tower. "Hoping n-not to d-die."

"Look, Chiro-" But Chiro cut BT off, not wanting to hear what either had to say.

"What's going on, anyway? Who saved me?" he asked.

"One 'o the officers. While we was looking up there we saw one carry you out and start pushin' on your chest. But when 'e carried ya down you-you looked like a zombie! Ya looked _dead_!"

In that moment Chiro truly realized how close he had come to dying; BT and Glenny looked frightened and upset. Chiro was almost willing to forgive them, until he turned around to see what their eyes were suddenly glued on.

Adjacent to the red ice were some people dressed in black, the word 'coroner' printed on the back of their shirts. Chiro paid no attention to the word, he didn't know what it meant. He observed as they lifted something heavy up from the ground and onto a stretcher. One coroner moved aside and Chiro gasped as he saw the pale, lifeless face of his nemesis.

"Did they shoot him down?" he asked, gesturing to the officers scattered about. Whether he was elated or disturbed by the thought, he did not know. He felt both sick and relieved.

"Naw! Right after we started to hear them sirens he was rushing outta there fast as he could!" said BT. "B-but his shoes were wet o-or somethin' or maybe it was just the cold…. He was climbin' down w-when he came f-falling…."

"They said he died on impact."

* * *

><p>A somber atmosphere settled upon the room as Sparx's voice drifted off.<p>

"…That really is quite the story," Gibson offered, not knowing what else to say. He couldn't blame Chiro for having mixed feelings. He had nearly drowned because of that sorry excuse for a Shuggazoomian. Why, it had been Aqil's own fault that he died! _He'd been terrorizing Chiro. If he had not died back then, he would have most certainly met his maker by tomorrow night, _Gibson thought, but in his heart he new it wasn't true.

Sparx seemed to suddenly realize everything he had just revealed and swiftly maneuvered out of his seat.

"Umm, well, I've told ya what ya asked me to so now we can just move on and never let Chiro know how I blatantly fried his trust."

"Not so fast there, Sparx," Gibson said as he dragged Sparx back to his seat. "What did he mean by 'It was your fault'?"

"How'm I supposed to know?" Sparx once again got up, but this time he opened up the fridge and took out two cans of soda. "When he told me that part it was like he was in a trance. Don't think he meant for me to hear it. But, look, I'm gonna go back to my magnets now, and your gonna go work on whatever crazy experiment you've got goin' on in your lab, okay? This conversation didn't happen and you're not gonna let it slip out at any time, especially not while Chiro's around-Ya want one?"

Sparx plonked a soda can on the table in front of Gibson.

"Sparx, you know I have no desire to consume such pernicious beverages."

"C'mon, sippin' on one makes everything look more natural. No one'll guess ya know something you didn't know twenty minutes ago."

"We are both talking about _me_ drinking a _soda_ in order to appear more inconspicuous, correct?"

"You may have a point there, Brainstrain."

"Of course I do, Sparky."

* * *

><p>AN Posted: 1/23/13

I now qualify to be a beta reader! :)

Polls:

1. Should there be a chapter in which Chiro meets the Hyper Force? Yes or No?

2. What kind of ending do you want? Happy, Bitter-sweet, or Sad?

Please Review! Even if it's just to say "I liked this chapter a lot!" or "Update!" It's motivating!

Edit: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, however, I request that reviews from this point onward be longer than just a few words (e.g. "Update"). Thank you!

Edit 2: Something went wrong after I reposted this chapter, but I've fixed it now. (Thank you, Sophia Winters!) However, some small edits I made are gone and I'm not going to bother with doing them over again. If there is something too noticeable to ignore, then go ahead and PM me, please.


	4. Fools

_A/N_

Sorry it took so long. My brain's fried. Senior year is harder than they let on.

A happy chapter for April Fools Day! (A day late.) Figured I should put in something lighthearted-ish that involved Gibson and Chiro. SM is going to get increasingly dark beginning next chapter.

* * *

><p>Takes place after The Skeleton King Threat<p>

* * *

><p>"Gibson, you need to get out of your lab."<p>

As happened every day for the last thirteen days, Chiro had gone up to Gibson's lab to coerce the blue monkey into strolling with him through town, but with each and every attempt was met by failure and Chiro was beginning to wonder what he had done wrong. At first it seemed that Gibson would rarely leave his lab, only emerging to help thwart another attack. However, one day, after Gibson and Sparx went to get some chow, Chiro started to pay attention, curious to discover the reason that those two monkeys, notorious for their disagreements, would hang out with each other. The results weren't what he had in mind when he realized that Gibson was not just hanging out with Sparx more often, but hanging out with everyone else on the team whenever one of them asked him to do so. Chiro felt a little left out as Gibson, once again, denied Chiro's offer to go to the arcade.

"You're in here all the time," Chiro moaned from his spot by the door, "and sure you've got a lot of important stuff to do, but even a genius needs a break from his work sometimes."

"Well, yes, I do suppose I need a break," answered Gibson, who, as usual, avoided Chiro's searching eyes, "but not at the moment."

He grabbed some grey heat-resistant gloves off the table and shoved them on. Lifting two test tubes up to his face, he carefully poured the flaky metal contents of one tube into the other tube that was filled with melted bismuth.

Chiro shifted the respirator covering his mouth and asked, "What metals are you using that are so toxic we need to wear these?"

"I'm trying to synthesize a new alloy composed of beryllium, bismuth and titanium. Beryllium, however, is quite hard to come by. I've yet to determine if this particular combination triggers any nasty effects when inhaled. I do hope that's not the case, however. With the return of Skeleton King I'd like to upgrade the robut's outer walls with much stronger plating. It would be a great help to not have to worry about repairing enormous holes in the robut's chest every other day."

"Oh, cool," said Chiro, rather indifferently, as he moved closer to a mess of beakers. "Can you tell me what you're doing with- whoa!"

There was no warning. Chiro had picked up a beaker filled with bubbling, red liquid, only to have it slip from his fingers, crash to the floor-

_BAM!_

* * *

><p>"Da-da, da-da, da-da! D-da, da, da-da d-da da, da da…"<p>

The sound of Otto's happy-go-lucky singing carried across the park as he merrily skipped to the robot. He had good reasons for being so content: his arms were full of bags packed with food from the grocery and he had a lollipop, the stick of which stuck out from between his lips. He waved at everyone he passed. He waved at the homeless guy, at the girl who was always eating a holographic ice-cream cone (hmmm, maybe he should go get one?), and at BT and Glenny just before he entered the robot.

The green elevator tube zipped him up to the main room. Upon spotting three of his teammates he dropped the bags. A couple of doughnuts and an assortment of bottled sprinkles bounced out.

"Hello, Otto," greeted Antauri, eyebrow raised. "That's quite a number of sweets you have. Are you throwing a party?"

Otto blushed and looked down sheepishly.

"Nahhh! I just wanted everyone to feel better after, y'know," Otto blushed more, "losing all our hair."

"That's thoughtful of you."

Nova and Sparx, meanwhile, launched themselves at the bags.

"Mmm, custard filling!" exclaimed Nova, pulling out a round, powdered doughnut.

"Bet it's not as sweet as you, my sweet apple fritter," said Sparx with a roughish grin.

"I wonder if you'll still think that after I launch my sweet fist at your big head!"

"Please, settle down you two," interrupted Antauri. Suddenly though, and with great passion, he thrust a crumbling doughnut into the air and bellowed, "I believe that _this_ delightful jelly pastry is the sweetest thing our tongues will ever taste!"

The black monkey greedily crammed the doughnut into his mouth, sending fluffy sugar fluttering to the floor. Some large clumps remained in his muzzle.

Then he caught the dumbfounded looks on his teammates faces.

"What?"

Otto gathered up a couple doughnuts into his arms.

"Uh, I'm gonna go see if Gibson and Chiro want some."

A sincere smile plowed it's way onto Otto's lips as he turned and bounded back to his tube, singing once again. The tube launched upward and halted smoothly at Otto's destination. Otto happily leaped down the hallway to Gibson's lab.

"Miiister Hal G-ibsooon!" he sang off-key as the door electronic door shot open. "I have a surprise for y- Oh!"

Otto paused, shocked, in the doorway. Tumbling around on the floor making various grunts and grumbling noises were two very strange creatures:

One looked like a chunk of dirty black hair pulled out from a drain, and the other, a scruffy ball of blue fur, looked like a giant Thingy. Otto smiled toothily.

"Ya got yer hair back!"

The two hairy creatures paused.

"Otto?" said the black ball, who Otto had realized was Chiro.

"Yep! It's me, the one and only-"

"Otto, would you please just grab the scissors in the left bottom drawer and cut us out of this mess?" said the exasperated blue ball.

"Sure thing, Gibson!"

Otto set the doughnuts down on Gibson's table - staining several pages of notes with red jelly - and rummaged through the drawer. He pulled out a pair of large scissors, which he held like lawn shears. Hearing Otto as he quickly gave the air two snips, Chiro asked Gibson if he was sure about this. Gibson replied that he was feeling less sure every second.

"Hold still, you guys!"

* * *

><p>The sound of rapid snipping filled the air like the twittering of a thousand birds, but an hour later, as Chiro stared in the mirror, he found that his hair didn't look half bad.<p>

"Nice job, Otto! Your not as good a barber as Ma Shenko, but you come pretty close."

Gibson, whose hair cut left him with giant patches of uneven fur, glanced questioningly at Chiro.

"Pardon me if I'm wrong, but doesn't she run the arcade with her husband?"

"Yeah, she does. It's just that sometimes she get's really fed up with my hair, so when I go over to the arcade she'll give me a hair cut if she thinks I need one."

"Sounds almost motherly," said Gibson.

Chiro shifted his feet awkwardly.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. Hey, Otto, are those you're doughnuts?"

Otto, who was on the floor trimming the hair on Gibson's tail, jumped to his feet and clambered over Gibson to get to the desk. He plucked two doughnuts from the bunch.

"Nope! They're your doughnuts!" exclaimed Otto, shoving a plain-looking doughnut into Gibson's mouth.

He promptly spat it back out in pure disgust.

"Ergh! W-what is wrong with that thing! It's absolutely revolting!"

"Oh, I just thought you'd like a salty doughnut," Otto said, slightly crestfallen.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Gibson asked incredulously. Otto grinned, excited once more.

"When we went to the circus! You said afterwards how you liked popcorn more than cotton candy, unlike Antauri, so I got this one just for you!"

"Well, uh," Gibson mumbled.

"What I think Gibson's trying to say," said Chiro, "is 'thank you.'"

Otto blushed then jumped onto Gibson's oddly trimmed back, squeezing the living daylights out of him.

"Ow! Otto, get off, you clingy buffoon."

"Sorry, Gibson. Hey, you guys wanna come with me and talk to people? Ya know, cause now we can communicate with 'em?"

Earlier that day, before facing off with the mutated guy whose giant pustule rid them of their hair, Chiro had finished his monkey translator and Gibson had taken initiative in explaining to the citizens of Shuggazoom the threat presented by the Skeleton King.

"I could already communicate with them, Otto, I'm one of them."

"Oh, right. What about you, Gibson? We could talk to Mr. Gakslapper, or that weird guy with the giant plushy, or Ma and Pa Shenko…"

A strange feeling of realization coursed through Gibson. He didn't realize that Chiro had caught his fleeting expression.

"Or BT and Glenny…" he muttered.

"What was that you said, Gibson?" asked Chiro.

"Oh, nothing, I-I was just contemplating Otto's offer," Gibson turned to Otto, "Yes, I would like to come with you."

Otto jumped up high, waving his arms and cheering excitedly.

"We're gonna talk to people! Really talk to 'em! C'mon, let's go, let's go now!"

And with that the little green mechanic rushed out of the lab, a smile exuding the innocence of a child plastered on his face.

The room's two occupants watched in silence as Otto left, but it was cut by Chiro calling after him. Gibson, Chiro noticed, did not seem to pleased to hear his next words.

"Hey, Otto, wait up! I changed my mind- I'm coming!"

* * *

><p><em>AN Posted: April 2, 2013_

1) I doubt I'm the only one who's noticed that Gibby says "robut" and not "robot."

2) Overall, I am not happy with this chapter. I wish it was more fleshed out. Edit, June 28: Reread it, and I'm actually very satisfied.

3) Before you get any ideas- No, Ma Shenko is not going to be Chiro's mother. *shivers* No way.

Question: Who can figure out what song Otto is singing? I'll give you a hint: Sing it slowly and magically.


	5. Suspicion

_A/N_

Happy New Year! Enjoy the longest chapter yet!

* * *

><p>The Citadel of Bone was cold, dark and malevolent. The light inside was a dull, sickly turquoise and the walls were made of soldiers' bones. The darkness was suffocating and enjoyed tormenting the occasional prisoner. The air carried the screams of the defaced and dying, yet their echoes were naught but a fading memory. This was the lair of the Skeleton King, a creature so vile you'd be pleased to face a fleet of his formless minions rather than him. A human skull could crumble in his fist, but with so much power he needn't bother with brute force, choosing to suffocate his opponents simply by raising his hand. He was made of deceit and turmoil. He was the epitome of evil, of nefarious plots and death - and a slave of the Dark Ones.<p>

The truth lingered in the words of his enemies. It would strike a great fear in him, but he pushed the truth away like a stubborn child each time. He was in denial of his own status in the ever-expanding universe. Once free, the Dark Ones would have no use for him and dispose of him just like he had disposed of his own servants.

The Skeleton King leaned back in his thrown, eyes closed, and reveled in the strength the Citadel fed him. After all this time, after all his failed attempts to claim the tiny world below and release the Dark One Worm, he had finally created an auspicious plan of action. Secrecy- that was the key all along.

The Citadel cruised closer to the little pink planet. Skeleton King swooped over to a pit filled with a thick, oily substance. In a voice that suggested he once swallowed nails, he said, "Time for my final creation to wreak havoc upon this pitiful mass of dirt." He swung his staff over the pit of ooze.

The gunk abrupt shifted. A second later, the movement grew more intense, air bubbles swelling and bursting violently on the surface. Then the mass began to take on a form, as if a person covered in tar was climbing out of the pit.

"Yes, ye-e-e-s, you'll do well. Now go! Do what you must to those pathetic souls."

Though without any clear sign of understanding the Skeleton King, the monster took off on giant, scaly wings like those of a dragon. Part of the bone ceiling peeled away. The monster flew through the gap, it's destination clear. Skeleton King watched it go, his deranged laugh filling the room before cutting off as the Citadel floated into the rays of the sun. The gap quickly sealed back up.

Skeleton King cursed himself. After all this time, after all these years of coming up with new plans, it was his original idea that was about to come to fruition. No matter. Time was irrelevant now. Soon the plague of the Dark Ones would begin. Soon terror would reign.

He merely needed to pay one more visit to a certain Master.

* * *

><p>Gibson was wishing he was as bald as a baby again. Well, that's not entirely true, he did have some level of decency. The temperature had spiked up and Gibson nor his companions were fairing too well. Sweat was collecting in his fur, making him feel stuffy and quite dirty. Next to him, Chiro was staring at the ground like he was half tempted to broil some burgers on the sizzling sidewalk. A bead of sweat dropped from his chin an evaporated before it hit the ground. And Sparx, who had followed them out of the robot, appeared to be muttering about relinquishing his fear of water so that he might cool down in the lake. Gibson didn't think that was such a bad idea, the only problem was Otto. The happy-go-lucky cyborg seemed unfazed by the heat that had everyone else in town sweating into dehydration and wanted to keep making conversation.<p>

The four of them had been traversing the city under the hot sun for the past hour, conversing with many odd people, like that bespectacled man who was always carrying his enormous penguin. Gibson had yet to figure out why Sparx had come along, especially considering the heat. Perhaps he too was excited about speaking with Shuggazoomians, although his silence throughout their walk suggested otherwise. He had a strange feeling that Sparx and Chiro were having a silent conversation whenever his back was turned. At the moment they were speaking with a spindly old fisherman who appeared to have had too many rough days. The conversation had been as unique as all the rest, but Otto seemed to become more blunt with every question he asked.

"So what's it like, having peg leg?" Otto said.

"Otto! Have you no manners?" Gibson admonished the green monkey. He found it hardly appropriate to question the man about his lost appendage. However, he couldn't help but wonder as well. His eyes subtly slid over to the man's right leg.

"No, no. It's all right," the man, Horacio, said as he waved Gibson off. "Those kids that poke and prod and joke don't know what's comin' till I whack them in the shins with my friend here." He gestured to the cane. "Though I miss my leg, I make the most of it and nobody and nothing is goin' to bring me down!"

Chiro smiled and gave the man a thumbs up.

"That great to hear! You let us know if you need some help though, all right? We got your back," said Chiro, genuinely.

"Yeah," agreed Sparx. "But, uh, how _did_ you lose your leg, anyway?"

Horacio seemed a peeved at the thought of how it happened, but he got down on his good leg anyway and balanced on his metal cane. The team gathered in close. The odor of tuna clogged their nostrils.

Horacio looked his audience in the eyes and said in a deep voice, "Nearly ten years ago, as I was on my way home after reeling in a good haul o' fish, I heard a girl scream. I thought some poor lass was getting mugged so I rushed 'round the corner into an alleyway. I noticed the girl cowering against the wall, blood pouring from her arm, the silhouette of a monstrous figure towering over her. I rushed at the creature in a blind rage and didn't notice there were more until I slammed face-first into the ground. Hit my head real good. Took me a moment to realize what was goin' down other than me!

"And that's when I felt it. An excruciating pain surging up from my leg like it'd been set ablaze! O' course, I didn't realize where it was comin' from until I looked back and saw my leg had been sliced clean off! I felt woozy and lost consciousness! Never got a damn look at the guys who did it!"

Horacio stood up in a huff and started walking away, calling in a disgruntled voice, "I'm mad as hell that they took my leg, but dammit, they also took the largest Jagullash fish I ever snagged! Always be on the lookout! Never know who's watching you, waiting to steal your fish!"

The three Hyper Force members watched with varying degrees of confusion and awe as Horacio stalked away into the crowd, his odd warning hanging in the air. No one was quite sure what to say until a gurgle disrupted the silence. Chiro slung his arm behind his neck and blushed.

"Heh. Sounds like you're up for some hoverburgers, Chiro," said Sparx. "What do you guys say, should we go to Gakslapper's?"

Otto made his opinion clear by punching the air and cheering, but Gibson was no longer paying attention. He was staring off where Horacio had gone. Wiping some perspiration from his brow, Gibson darted down the street.

"Hey! Gibson! Where are you going?" he heard Chiro call.

"I've just remembered something rather important. Don't wait for me!" he called back, hoping Chiro would not follow. This was not a good time to explain things.

Chiro watched curiously as Gibson disappeared into the crowd. Otto tugged at his hand earnestly.

"C'mon, Chiro! I'm hungry."

* * *

><p>Gibson dashed through the packed thoroughfare, masterly weaving between people and food carts, all the way to a tight side street where he thought he had seen two unpleasant characters. He glanced around, disappointed, before continuing on, the adrenaline leaving him.<p>

Leisurely strolling through the city had never crossed his mind before. When not troubled by one of Skeleton King's vile creatures Gibson would busy himself with his experiments or repairing the robot, as well as the occasional trip to the Arcade or Mr. Gakslapper's Burger Joint. The closest he'd come to simply wandering around the city was when the team had just woken up and the scanner had been out of order. They needed to send units of two teammates out on patrol in rotation. Gibson had considered the task an assignment and only that, not once taking in the beauty of the futuristic city.

Gibson stopped walking. Lost to his thoughts he had travelled down several more streets. Now he stood in a cul-de-sac in front of an oddly shaped building/ Unlike all the other buildings this edifice was a plain rectangular prism. It was as if the building was constructed out of necessity and time to build forwent a unique design. Encompassing the building was a garden filled with native Shuggazoomian flowers. The scent of honey and mint filled his senses and pushed away the acrid smell of rotten eggs that filled the rest of the street. Looking all the way back to the end of the garden, Gibson saw a playground with several kids laughing and playing in the sand or on the swings. He was about to turn back (Chiro and Otto were probably wondering where he went) when he spotted a depressing sign hanging neatly above the entrance gate:

~*~ Shuggazoom Orphanage ~*~

The sign was rather new, perhaps just a few years old. The monkey's heart sunk. Did a traumatic incident leave these children orphaned? While he and his team slept? No. He was jumping to conclusions. How utterly unscientific of him! Yet, the situation had struck him, and the Power Primate ebbed as if it wanted to tell him something. But what?

_Bam!_

Gibson gasped as something smacked him out of his thoughts and onto his tail. Whatever it was groaned as it sat up and Gibson noticed "it" was actually a young boy. The boy stood up, holding his nose all the while.

"Gee, A'mb sorry… Ah, darb, is mah nose bleed'n…?" the boy said as he delicately felt the bridge of his nose.

"It's all right. Just be more careful. Do you need some help?" asked Gibson as he rubbed his throbbing head.

_Why does this seem familiar?_ he thought. The boy must have been around nine years old, with light brown hair and scared blue eyes. _He looks a bit like Chiro…_

"N' thank you, I-" the boy stilled as he heard voices shouting behind him.

"Where ya going!"

"Wait for us! We just wanna let you know how we _feel_!"

Gibson looked past the boy's shoulder. He did not like what he saw. The two people he had run after, BT and Glenny, were running toward him, or rather, the boy with a bloody nose. _No, they didn't hurt that boy, did they?_ Gibson growled. Anger began to build in his chest, thudding with the beats of his heart. He blew hot air out of his nose. His composure waned thin.

"Hey, you! Come back here!" called Glenny, who was attempting to keep his pants from sliding down his fat rump.

As they came closer, the pair slowed down, seeming to grasping their predicament as they came into view of both the boy (who then turned on his heel and darted down the street) and a fuming blue monkey.

"Hey, it's one of them monkeys!"

Gibson snarled and the two boys stopped short, their eyes widening. The monkey couldn't explain what he felt at that moment. His logical mind seemed to slip for a moment, just long enough for him to realize his intense desire to inflict onto the boys a slice of the fear they'd handed out to others. Without warning, Gibson's hands transformed into furiously spinning weapons.

* * *

><p>Chiro and Otto were sitting at a booth outside Mr. Gakslapper's Burger Joint. After the "Wonder Fun Meat World" fiasco the townspeople appreciated the nice, normal hoverburgers even more. This eventually led to Mr. Gakslapper raking in the dough and upgrading to a location right by the water with a view of the Olennia bridge. Chiro discarded Gakslapper's idea that location had any bearing on the number of customers the restaurant received, claiming that the aroma of grilled meat, spices and sautéd vegetables was enough to get anyone to order.<p>

The three teammates ate their burgers with gusto. Otto swung his legs back and forth while munching on his fifth burger. Sparx was in line, waiting to make another order of a dozen burgers.

"It's Nova's turn to cook tonight," he said with a wink. "And I'm not planing on dying by food poisoning."

Chiro, only on his second burger, ate without leaving half his meal on his face, but hummed in satisfaction. That is, until his mind wandered over to his favorite blue monkey's strange behavior. Gibson definitely did not want anyone to think he was irrational, yet there he was leaving his teammates in the dust without telling them where he was going. And even before that, Gibson had been ignoring him for weeks!

The leader looked at his teammate. Otto - periodically oblivious Otto - could he have said something to the scientist? It wouldn't have been the first time, but it would be the second. "Hey, Otto, you haven't told Gibson anything… _strange_ about me, have you?" Chiro asked cautiously.

"Ah sure 'ave, Churro! Ah've told 'im lo's o' thungs!" Otto replied, a bit of beef tumbling out of his jam-packed mouth.

Chiro shifted nervously in his seat.

"Like what?" He asked as normally as he could. There was no telling what the talkative monkey let slip. Chiro picked a crumb from the burger bun. Otto swallowed his food.

"How you already knew so much about robotics before you found us!" he said jovially. "And how much you wanted to stay with us and be a hero and fight Skeleton King! But I don't know how much he was payin' attention. He was workin' on repairing the robot's alarm system and kicked me out 'cause I was talkin' too much…."

Chiro breathed a sigh of relief, though he didn't relax too much- Otto didn't know what he was was afraid he'd revealed. That little blabbering monkey. So innocent, and really intelligent…

"Hey, Chiro? Are you okay?"

… and observant.

"You seem worried about something. You can tell me if you want to," Otto continued, meekly.

_Might as well admit it,_ Chiro thought. _Otto can give the best advice sometimes._

"I just wonder… why Gibson's avoiding me. It's like he knows something about me and he doesn't want me to know he knows, so he doesn't let me see him, so I can't observe him. I don't like it. I don't like that he's… afraid of being around me? I don't know. It doesn't make sense."

"Why don't you just ask him about it?" said Otto.

"I can't ask him when I'm probably just overreacting."

"But it's bothering you, Chiro," Otto said earnestly. "C'mon, it's just Gibson! Everybody likes Gibson. And everybody likes you! He'll understand and he won't be mad, cause he likes you."

Chiro felt a bit deflated, and a bit better. It was such simple logic for something Chiro felt was quite complicated, yet the heartfelt way Otto said it was appealing. He looked up and gave Otto a small smile.

"You have a way with words, Otto," he mumbled just loud enough for Otto to hear. "What do you make of him running away like that, back there? It seemed like he was chasing someone he didn't like, but I don't think any of you could have made enemies with any of the citizens yet. Except Sparx. There are people he could easily infuriate."

"That's real great of you, kid," Sparx deadpanned behind him. Chiro jumped in his seat. Looking behind him he saw the red monkey, arms around a bagful of burgers, with an arched eyebrow.

"Heh, sorry, Sparx," Chiro said. He looked to Otto and mouthed, "When did he get here?" But Otto was not looking.

Sparx set his loot on the table with a hearty thump, then plopped himself in the remaining chair.

"So, what were you saying about Mr. Science? You're wondering why he's all holed up in his lab all the time?"

"Sort of. I-"

"I'm sure it's nothing, kid. He was always like this, you just haven't noticed before. Soon enough you'll forget that you thought something was up and everything will feel normal again."

"But I know he's always been-"

"If you just stop worrying about it things will feel like they always had."

Chiro had an inkling that something was up with Sparx. The red monkey wouldn't let him get a word in and he seemed to be rambling. Sparx was usually talkative, but this time he seemed a bit defensive. Did he overhear something he didn't like?

"Speaking of Gibson, where is he? Y'know, I think he's probably back at the robot by now," continued Sparx. "I'm gonna go bring him, Nova and Antauri some of these hoverburgers. They're probably hungry." Sparx picked up the bag of greasy hover (and veggie) burgers, and with a wave over his shoulder and a "see ya later," he left.

Chiro bit chewed his lip. Now he was sure Sparx was up to something. Although, there was a more pressing matter; Where was Gibson?

"Should I contact Gibson?" Chiro asked Otto. "If he's in his lab then I don't want to bug him…"

"I don't think he is. He looked pretty determined when he ran away. Maybe he saw the doughnut cart?"

"No… maybe?"

Otto waved him off.

"I'm sure he's just havin' some fun, Chiro."

* * *

><p>"RUN FOR IT!"<p>

"Oh no! Move it, Glenny!"

"I'm too young to die!"

In a great leap Gibson snagged Glenny's belt. The two of them tumbled into BT and roughly smacked into the ground in a great heap.

"H-HEY! G-get off me, ya crazy ape!" yelled BT as he tried in vain to wriggle out from under Glenny. Gibson was already standing, watching the two buffoons fumble around. Part of him felt like they deserved a bit of fear in their hearts, but another part felt guilty. The anger that filled his blood just moments ago slowly started to drain.

"How dare you…" Gibson said darkly, "Causing harm to another living being, and one of lesser mass than one of you individually, at that. Have you no dignity? How often my team, who fight for peace, have saved your lives and this is how you demonstrate your appreciation?"

"We didn't lay a finger on the kid, I swear!" BT squealed as he cowered behind Glenny. "Teasing him was all we did. He likes bird watching- _bird watching,_ for Shuggazoom's sake! Especially the kiwi birds and I just couldn' understand why someone would like that. We didn't mean to cause no harm."

Gibson stepped closer.

"Listen to me. I may not approve of manhandling and threatening such ignorant children like you, but after what you let your friend did to mine and the tragic end he met, I cannot believe that you dared continue with this behavior!"

"W-we weren't! Just joking around was all. We didn't lay a hand on the kid," defended Glenny.

"Which friend are you talking about? We ain't got no other friends," BT said, suspicious.

"It recently came to my attention that you took less than pleasing actions toward a certain leader several years ago," Gibson ground out.

"And, who is that?"

"Glenny, you idiot, he's talking about _Chiro_," said BT. "We don't cause him anymore trouble. We know who not to cross."

"Then you shouldn't have crossed me." Gibson's anger spiked. "Why! He almost _d-died_!"

"Why you asking?" challenged Glenny. "That red monkey already chased us down months ago!"

Gibson faltered.

"W-what?" Sparx had already confronted them?

"It wasn't cool, man. There we was, minding our own business, when suddenly he's there. Nothing but a street lamp light his face," BT whined. "Then the saws came out and we were sure we was gonna die! Didn't realize why he was chasing us around the city, scaring the living daylights out of us, until we's scrambled into some trash cans and heard 'im say, 'Hope you don't go the same way as Aqil. Y'know, part of me thinks he deserved it!'"

Gibson stared at the ground. That didn't sound good. That didn't sound like Sparx. Then again, hadn't he, the logical one on the team, just intentionally struck fear in these boys? This was not right. His stomach felt ill. He had just crossed a line he had never imagined he'd cross. Such anger shouldn't live so strongly in him, or his teammates. He'd have to bring it up with Antauri. The guilt was making him feel sick now, and there was only one way to put an end to it.

"Forgive me," said Gibson. "And my teammate. We are meant to be an example of light overshadowing the dark and attacking civilians for something that happened years ago is not a proper course of action. It was our feeling that an injustice was made and needed to be righted that led us to confronting you."

_It was only right_, Gibson thought. _They lost a friend that day. Albeit a horrible friend, the trauma of losing someone they cared about could've elicited more awful behavior._

BT and Glenny didn't quite seem to understand why Gibson was apologizing, but Gibson didn't truly care about that. He had certain questions to ask. That had been the whole reason for going out.

"Alright, then. I believe you owe me an explanation. Why were you three after Chiro that day? Why did Aqil want to hurt him? Don't look at me like that-you had better answer." But the looks on their faces did not change. In fact they grew rather weary, haunted, and the defiance Gibson saw revealed itself as a flimsy mask. The boys shakily refused to answer.

"You don't wanna know! W-we're not sayin' and there's n-nobody around who's gonna!"

"It's all in the p-p-past, man! A-all in the p-past!"

"What's in the past? What won't you say?" Gibson questioned. The boys vehemently shook their heads. Gibson sighed. This was getting quite tiresome. "I've had my go at you two, you might as well answer my questions. I won't harm you."

He didn't expect his words to have such an effect; the boys launched at each other and pulled into an embrace, whimpering as tears filled their eyes.

"Scarred for life, we were! Weren't we, Glenny?" blurted out BT.

"Uh-huh!"

"So was the rest of them." BT pointed at the children on the playground. "But I'm not going to say no more!"

"No, no, tell me what happened," urged Gibson. Perhaps he was right, a tragedy did shake the lives of these children.

"NO! I won't say. I can't… my parents… my sister…" BT's breathing became ragged. "But it won't happen again… We get it now… It wasn't Chiro's fault after all… but the pain, when it happened… we… we just… had to blame someone…."

Seeing that BT was on the verge of hyperventilating, Gibson pulled on his arm, led him back to the sidewalk and sat him down on the curve. Glenny wasn't fairing too well either. Sweat was pouring down his face in waves and his eyes drooped.

"... but we've got you, the monkey team, to save us now."

* * *

><p><em>AN Updated: 1/1/14_

I never meant to go on hiatus! I got to college and my desire to work on this just -poof- vanished! But I'm back now.

Gibson does seem to be a bit OOC, and the others too, but imagine you found out that bullies nearly caused the death of one of your friends, and then you came across them while a similar scenario was playing out, wouldn't you feel angry?

Geez, I'm making them all angry and suspicious of one another. I suppose it's nearly time for someone to lose their head….

My New Year's resolutions: Finish 1 chap/month of this fic; 1 chap/2months for my YJ fic.


	6. Fire

As the day crawled by, the heat intensified. Pedestrians trudged sluggishly down the sidewalks, wishing for some way to cool off. Children wandered about aimlessly, wishing for some excitement, but were too exhausted to do anything about it. However, one person didn't seem to notice the weather much at all.

Chiro mindlessly licked a vanilla-flavored holographic snow cone, thinking about the odd behavior of two very different monkeys. What was going on, Chiro could not figure out. One monkey was ignoring him and nowhere to be found, and the other was trying to steer him off course to figuring out… something. What they were hiding - if they were actually hiding anything at all - had to be important, or so ridiculous they were embarrassed to mention it. Chiro could only imagine what it was. Gibson never had anything to hide, except when he'd been mind controlled, infected, zombified…

"Chiro."

But none of those theories seemed likely, since Sparx was acting pretty much like his usual self and likely knew what was going on. Maybe they were in on it together? Did Sparx trick Gibson into taking part, or was it the other way around? Chiro wiped the sweat from his forehead. Did Sparx think he was close to figuring out what the two were up to?

"Hey, Chiro!"

He ought to ask Antauri about it. He usually knew what to do in those situations. Then again, he often spoke too cryptically for Chiro to understand any of his advice at all. If worse came to worst he could still ask Nova to threaten it out of Sparx.

"Chi-i-i-i-r-r-o-o-o!" Otto shouted loudly into Chiro's ear.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, what's going on, Otto?" Chiro asked, clearing out his ear and brushing his drenched bangs from his eyes. How long had Otto been calling him? Soon the others would begin to question him onhis _own_ weird behavior if he kept this up. He took another bite of ice cream cone.

Otto looked at him nervously.

"Uh… an asteroid is gonna hit us."

Chiro spat out the ice from his mouth.

"_What?_"

"Look!"

Chiro spun around to see what Otto was pointing at, but was instantly blinded by a raging ball of fire.

* * *

><p>Gibson, BT, and Glenny sat dejectedly on the sidewalk, heads hanging and not saying a word. The cheerful calls and laughs of the children on the playground drifted in and out of their consciousnesses. A spare cool breeze passed by, and Gibson reveled in it. The boys, however, didn't seem to notice.<p>

After they had calmed down the world seemed rather quiet and bland with nothing going for it. Gibson just sat by BT and Glenny, not knowing whether to ask them anymore questions, console them, or just leave. He was a sympathizer. The thought of just leaving boys to drown in misery wasn't something he could do, but part of him wanted them to feel that way- they way they made Chiro feel. On the other hand, the never-ending silence was getting ridiculous, so he figured he should just ask a question.

"Do you want to talk to me about anything?" Gibson asked. He internally cringed at how apathetic he sounded.

"No," replied Glenny, simply.

"How about you, BT?"

BT shook his head. No.

"Well, if you ever need to talk, I hope you'll seek someone out," Gibson told them. _I tried_, he thought. "Do you know anyone who can answer my questions about Ch-, um, this orphanage?"

BT didn't look up, but he pointed at the building and said, "There's this old woman in there. Maybe she'll help you. I doubt it, though, she hasn't helped any of us yet." BT looked even more dejected now than a moment ago.

The air was starting to feel stiff and dreadful between them, so Gibson decided to leave them out on the sidewalk to their own devices. He stood up, said goodbye, to which he received a depressed "See ya later, monkey," and walked up the pebbled pathway into the orphanage.

The inside of the building was pleasantly cool, but it could have smelled better- the noxious stench of sanitizing fluid filled the room up to capacity. Gibson held a hand over his muzzle as he struggled to breathe, trying to inhale enough oxygen without taking in too much of the noisome vapors.

The room was enormous, and had an overly clean feel to it: white subway tile lined the floor, white chairs sat in the waiting area on a white rug, and white plastic flowers lay scattered throughout the room in white vases. The only things that were non-white were the framed grey newspaper articles around the room about the grand opening of the orphanage. Not a speck of dust could be seen. Even Shuggazoom's hospitals felt more comforting.

"Ahem."

Gibson's attention was brought to a woman in the corner of the room, sitting and typing away on a computer behind a reception desk. She was much too wrinkly for her age, and, judging by her severely tanned skin, spent too many hours in the sun.

"Ah! Excuse me, Miss…" He quickly read the white nameplate on the desk. "… Cumberbottom."

"It's pronounced 'coma-boom,'" she snapped, not missing a beat as she continued typing. Gibson had a feeling this happened often.

"I was wondering–"

"Are you here to make an adoption?" she cut in.

Gibson stared at her. He couldn't fathom why this old lady would think a blue monkey cyborg would consider adopting a Shuggazoomian child. Maybe she didn't realize who she was talking to - she hadn't look at him yet.

"Um, no. But I was hoping–"

"Have you made an adoption before?"

"No–"

"If you are not here to make an adoption now and you have not made an adoption before then you have no business here."

Gibson was feeling rather irked by this woman. Her voice was clipped, yet sounded like that of a dial tone operator.

"Well, I can argue that. I would like some information one of your former charges–"

"All adoptions are closed and final. No information regarding a child's previous or current family will be released to anyone. Information about a child will only be given to the current family. If you have not adopted a child from this establishment then you have no business here."

"But–"

"Sir, please do not make me repeat myself."

"I'll have you know, I am here on official Hyper Force business!" Gibson spouted before he could stop himself. He had no idea what he would say if she asked what that business was. "I have reason to believe you have information about a certain teammate of mine."

Finally, Cumberbottom stopped typing and looked up from her computer. Though her eyes were as cross as her voice, she seemed to analyze Gibson. She stared for a rather long time before saying, "Then you must know everything you need to know." She paused. "Now, I am asking you to leave before I call security. I can't have strange folk loitering in here." She gestured to the door, a slight sneer on her face once again. Gibson huffed, then spun around and stalked out the door.

_You old hagfish! _he thought,_ I just wanted to know if I should be concerned about Chiro!_

He roughly deposited himself on a metal bench, but jumped up in pain from the shockingly hot metal. He vaguely noticed that BT and Glenny were gone, likely cowering somewhere, possibly considering ways to repent for their actions. With no good leads and unhelpful people, how would he sort out this mystery now?

Soon his mouth was dry, and his fur felt matted and hot. The weather had already been sweltering by noon, but now the heat felt absolutely brutal. The sun's luminosity seemed to increase by the second. He sat there for a only few minutes when a voice made him jump five feet in the air.

"What's wrong with you!"

Gibson looked up the street and saw a vexed red monkey storming towards him. It wasn't an unusual site, except for the fact that Sparx never actually went looking for him when he was angry. Sparx marched up to him, putting his face close to Gibson's.

"Well?" he said impatiently.

"Nothing is wrong, Sparx."

"Well, you're acting suspicious! Can't you hold it together a bit better?"

It took Gibson a moment to understand what Sparx was talking about. Chiro must have become suspicious of him, what with the scientist avoiding him more than he used to, and that was making Sparx panicky. Sparx valued Chiro's trust immensely, Gibson knew. He had been the first to truly welcome Chiro into the team, not so much as leader, but as a friend and teammate. Sparx didn't want to lose that bond, so he couldn't let Chiro know that he had told Gibson his secret.

"I shouldn't have made you tell me something so private," Gibson muttered, feeling like a deflated balloon.

"Now you say that?" Sparx said, incredulously. "What made you change your mind?"

Gibson paused.

"I attacked civilians." That, and he valued Chiro's trust as well.

"You–_what?_ Who? It was Tweedle Dumb and Dumber, huh? I saw them too. But... you didn't do much, right? You're, well, you. You didn't use you drills, did you?"

"Sparx! You think I could do something so appalling? So revolting?"

"C'mon, I had to make sure… I thought you said you attacked them?"

"Well, if you think acting as though I was going to harm them, chasing and tackling them is attacking, then yes."

"Whew! Good, cause I–"

"–was concerned that I was as rough with them as you were?" Gibson waited until comprehension dawned on Sparx's face. "Yes, they told me about you chasing them clear across the city. Does Chiro know you went after them?"

"He had suspicions after they ran away from us one time. Don't get the wrong idea, I only scared them, maybe gave them a small shove or two." Sparx crossed his arms like he was justified in his actions. "It's not like I hurt them, I was just giving them a taste of what they dish out. Don't tell me you weren't at least a little happy with their fear. If we didn't do anything, how would they know that what they do is wrong? Quit looking at me like that, you must've been thinking the same way!"

Gibson glared at Sparx. He could see where he was coming from, especially since he was thinking along those same lines, like Sparx believed. But Gibson already wanted to distance himself from those thoughts and feelings, and felt a strong urge to deny Sparx's assertions.

"Perhaps we _both_ need to do some extra meditation training. Antauri could help us sort ourselves out," Gibson replied, ignoring outright answering Sparx's question.

"Oh no, we are not bringing that all-seeing Jedi monkey into this! If he finds out then he won't let us off the hook until we admit everything to Chiro. No, we are under no conditions admitting to Chiro anything. You got that?" Sparx menacingly poked Gibson in the chest.

"Fine," Gibson consented. "Just answer me this, what do you know about this building? It's an orphanage, and I think it's quite new. I tried to ask this wretched receptionist inside about it, but she wouldn't let me get a word in. Honestly, I can't imagine she's been helpful to anyone in her life. I wanted to know when the building was built and if there were any files available to the public. Apparently, they are very secretive, because only an adopted child or adoptive parent can get any sort of help around here."

"Can't help you, I don't know squat. I swear, it's almost ridiculous that Chiro built that translator, because most of these people won't talk to us unless it's Otto talking! So, I have no idea. Wait– why do you want to know about the orphanage?" Sparx watched Gibson with pure confusion.

"I have a theory that Chiro is an orph–" Gibson began, but everything around them was suddenly swallowed by light. The ground rumbled. Screams filled the air. Then, the light vanished as quickly as it came, disappearing behind the Shuggazoom skyline.

"What was that?" Sparx asked.

"I don't know, but it crashed by Pier 14! Isn't that where Mr. Gakslapper's is?" Gibson replied, stunned. Sparx took a heavy breath.

"Y'know what, Gibson? Forget the orphanage-we've got a job to do! I'll be damned if we lose someone today. C'mon!" Sparx seized Gibson's arm, and together they jet-packed to Pier 14.

* * *

><p><strong>MUST READ!<strong>

I am considering the possibility of continuing this as a comic instead of a fanfic. I'm testing out my comic drawing skills right now, and will hopefully get a sample page up soon on deviantart. If I don't even manage to get that sample page up, you can be sure this will stay a fanfic here, despite what you vote.

**Poll! **(Please vote on my profile!)

Would you rather I…

continued writing this story chapter by chapter and posting here on

OR continued this story as a COMIC on deviantart? (likely faster updates)

OR did both, with the written chapters on both sites (written chapter up first)

Updated: July 4th, 2014

3 extra things:

1) This is really the end part of chapter 5. I had meant to go on to the action scene this chapter, but I figured you waited long enough for an update. Plus, I want to keep my chapters around 2000 words from now on.

2) I forgot to say what the song is that Otto hums in Chapter 4. It's "Hedwig's Theme," aka the Harry Potter theme.

3) I will be starting a Young Justice fanfic soon.

4) ThingsTimHowardCouldSave


	7. Archulu

Life is but a dream

in which our choices

have consequences

that are greater in strength

and importance

than they seemed

when we made the decision

A choice may be good

or bad

what it is depends on its

justifications

intentions and

outcomes

Sometimes

there is a

grey line

on which the choice

falls

But what happens when

a choice is made

by your heart

without thinking

without considering

the consequences?

In a moment

our life changes

and we don't know it

because the consequences

have yet to be seen

Is the choice good

or bad?

Does it fall on that

grey line?

Does it ever choose a side?

* * *

><p>Antauri hovered in his room, meditating deeply. His breathing was slow, as if he was sleeping. One might call it a trance, another may say he was dreaming. He was in a place in his mind where he knew exactly who he was. He knew himself completely in that moment. The monkey was at peace - a state of mind most beings hardly ever feel, because, unlike Antauri, they are unaware of their capability to feel so light and unburdened by their troubles.<p>

However, even Antauri can face inescapable troubles. The good thing was that he would typically take a head-on approach, knowing full well that problems do not solve themselves. But even Antauri can't win every battle, and so stalls, unable to decide on a course of action. Whether or not he did anything, there would still be a change later on. What effect would there be if he chose not to act all? Would the choice bring about good consequences, or bad? There was no real way to know.

Antauri's tail twitched involuntarily as his troubles clawed toward the forefront of his mind. He fought with all his might to keep them away, but the troubles met victory. The problem was a question that required an answer, one that Antauri was not ready to give. The question was something that he had almost hoped to forget in the beginning, for it was a choice of his that brought him into this precarious situation in the first place. His mind skirted around the question, never wanting to let it fully develop or reveal itself. Another question bubbled up.

Was his heart getting in the way of the mission, or was the mission getting in the way of his heart?

Antauri frowned horribly, bothered by a choice he made long ago yet which remained relevant in his life. His heart dully thudded against his chest - a pain not known to anyone else. He clenched his hand around a piece of paper, a note he had written to himself, but had never forgotten. Tucked away inside a secret panel in the wall, beneath his few personal artifacts, the note had laid beneath a bundle of photos, waiting to be read by him so that he would remember the impending decision: to act, or not to act?

Having been re-read only once, the words had remarkable sticking power. They turned over like a chant in his mind:

_When will you tell him?_

_When will you tell him?_

_When will you tell him?…_

Like the first choice, this would be difficult. He hadn't needed the note to remember what he'd have to do, or not do. Would he make the right choice? He wished someone could give him an answer, but he was used to giving advice when due - receiving it was a whole other story. He was a rock when someone needing a strong, sturdy form to hold onto. He was not used to doing the needing.

He was no longer meditating, his consciousness having been thoroughly trodden upon and pulled from its sweet, tranquil space within the confines of his body. The world around him became all too real, too ugly. Completely aware of his surroundings, he gave in to his thoughts, and wondered, for he would have to act soon or not at all.

For a reason he could not remember, Antauri had figured that with Skeleton King gone he wouldn't have to worry ever again, he could let the choice go. That had not been the case. The worry had subsided, but the question remained, and now, with the knowledge that his teammates were keeping secrets from each other, and that Skeleton King was still out there, the question had returned with a vengeance. He was meant to be a role model, take command when Chiro showed a lack of knowledge, be the person who his team could go to for guidance. There was no one who could offer him advice, not in this particular situation.

Antauri had removed the note from its hiding place, hesitated, then gently unfolded it. Reading it for the first time in months had renewed its place in reality, giving it strength, enough to make Antauri's heart writhe and squirm its way up to his throat. With an intense feeling of anxiety - from what it was spun, Antauri was unsure - he had assumed the lotus position and floated into the air, into his mind, to relieve himself of the dreadful emotion.

But now, no longer able to keep the thoughts at bay, the black monkey sank back to the ground and found his legs to be on the shaky side. Unfurling and smoothing out the note, which had crumpled in his hands, he read over the words and thought. Might he remain stalled, because he was too afraid of the outcome should he make the wrong choice? In which case, the outcome would be determined for him.

Suddenly, the feeling that something awful was about to happen struck him. This was not unusual for him, he had felt it so many times before-

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP-

The Super Robot's alarm system blared, though Antauri could sense that whatever was threatening the city was close. His heart raced, but his face turned hard and determined as he dashed for his tube.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP-

"Antauri? Antauri!" Nova's voice crackled over Antauri's communicator. "There's a large, unidentified flying object heading straight for Pier Fourteen, North sector. I'm setting up the auto-crew. Get to your station!"

"On my way," he replied as the tube brought him to Brain Scrambler Five. Upon arrival, he jumped to the controls. There was no seat, but it was unnecessary as each hand and foot grabbed onto a control stick. He spoke through his communicator. "Ready, Nova?"

"Ready. Initiating Foot Thrusters."

The robot shook vigorously, then, with jet propelled force, launched into the sky.

* * *

><p>Minutes ago, the vibe of Shuggazoom city was low in energy, the day being muggy and uneventful. But now the city was rife with alarm; Every person in sight was running or driving a hovercraft either to or from the North sector of the city. Screams and honks filled the streets, climbing up to the rooftops. Among the commotion, however, were the yells of fury or excitement. Some people, Gibson knew, got a thrill out of witnessing the havoc and destruction brought on by Skeleton King's monsters. Most others were wise enough to get as far away as possible, lest they get in the Hyper Force's way, or worse, caught and hurt, perhaps even killed, by the creature. But there was a new movement, gaining in popularity, in which civilians fancied themselves heroes, and, instead of retreating, actually converged upon the threat, hoping to help in the fight against Skeleton King. This phenomenon had yet to go without incidence.<p>

Gibson and Sparx were speeding on jet-packs like lightening across the city, bursting over rooftops and narrowly dodging skyscrapers. Gibson wasn't sure what terror they'd find at the pier, but this was no doubt Skeleton King's work - the possible types of threats were endless. Anyone could figure out that it was a creature, but not the abilities it would possess. There was no telling what the monster could accomplish or how much damage it would cause by the time they'd arrive.

"Chiro, come in. Otto, come in."

"Hurry up, Gibson! We don't know how much damage there's been!" Sparx yelled, not bothering to look back at Gibson, who ignored him. He was attempting to make contact with two of their teammates by communicator. He held back his tongue, making sure he didn't cause a row with Sparx over his incessant yelling and worrying. His emotions were likely exacerbated by the fact that two teammates were MIA, and telling Sparx to quit talking wouldn't help him in such a state. He couldn't say he was faring too well either, also fearful of the fate of Chiro and Otto. But there was something else, something indirectly related to this newest foe that had him on edge, he just couldn't place what it was.

"Chiro, come in. Otto, come in," Gibson commanded over his communicator.

"We're almost there! I can see the pier - _move it_, Gibson!" ordered Sparx frantically.

"Chiro, come in. Otto, come in."

"There! Oh, _hell_-"

There was nothing but chaos: A monster, standing over a hundred feet tall, higher than the Super Robot itself, with sallow green skin, arose from the water; Its wings stretched out as it let loose a deafening screech from its fish-like mouth; Chunks of concrete had splintered off a building where the monster had rammed into it during descent, and fallen onto the people below; There were approximately fifty civilians strewn about in the water, gasping for breath and drowning in the water, while others screamed for help from the pier and the sidewalks. Many people were giving up there safety and dashing into the water to save those unfortunate few who had been pulled in. Gibson felt his stomach drop, but he quickly blocked out the feeling as instincts overrode his thoughts and fears.

Swooping down to pull the civilians to safety, Gibson instructed Sparx, "Ignore the monster! Grab the people who are barely bobbing above the water and aren't calling out - they're in the most trouble!"

Although there were many civilians in the water, the ones in close proximity to the monster and were silently fighting to keep above the water were the ones who suffered the greatest likelihood of drowning, and there Gibson flew, hoping to Shuggazoom that nobody had gone under yet. He swiftly snatched a young boy by the wrist then flew over to two girls. One of them fumbled a bit, her head dipping below the surface for split, terrible moment, but he grabbed her wrist as well. The other girl grabbed his leg, and they were off, speeding toward the pier, Sparx following behind him with his own haul. They set the Shuggazoomians down carefully, then made for the water again, but they weren't alone.

Of all people, it was none other than Horacio, their over-the-hill, prosthetic-legged acquaintance, charging toward the edge of the pier.

"Nice try, you overgrown sea bass!" he bellowed, shaking a fist in the air. "Quit tryin'a steal MY FISH!"

"Grab that guy before he gets hurt!" yelled Sparx at some dubious-looking bystanders down the pier. They didn't budge, apparently too petrified to move.

"I think it's too late for that," commented Gibson, leaping into the air and restarting his jet-pack to go after more civilians. In the corner of his eye, he saw Horacio leap over the edge of the pier and disappear into the water like a professional diver, resurfacing a moment later and paddling forward with unnaturally great strength.

"Well, monkey doodle..."

Suddenly, events happened in rapid succession: a girl went under the water's surface; Gibson dived for her; the monster screeched; the water fluctuated and bent into a wave hurling right for them; the Super Robot appeared, launching a fist into the monster's face and knocking it down; a person flew out of the monster's slackened fist, but was caught by the Robot's hand; the wave surged upward, and Gibson crashed headlong into it.

He wouldn't admit it later, but in the moment that he was unable tell which way was up, he was panicked, uncertain if he would make it back to the surface. A mad ringing filled his head. He couldn't breathe - his mask inside the robot, as he hadn't expected to use it while on land. He floundered a bit, thrashing his arms and legs around, determining his orientation to the surface, and caught sight of something both wonderful and terrible: At the bottom of the sea wall, trapped beneath a enormous, clear plastic skylight, which had likely been part of the damaged building, were six people and one green monkey.

It was shaped as a triangular prism and half-filled with air, for which Gibson was thankful, but the glass was damaged, allowing water to flow through cracks, and a metal beam was laying across it, pining the skylight against the sea wall. Gibson couldn't fathom how they had ended up there, but they were losing air, quickly.

No time to think, Gibson turned tail and swam to the girl who was drowning. It was a disturbing sight; her eyes were still open and she wasn't struggling anymore. Snatching her around the waist, he jet-packed to the surface. Bursting from the water and gasping for breath, he hurried her over to the EMTs, whom had just arrived, and left her to get CPR. He didn't want to find out her fate.

* * *

><p>Updated: 1213/14

IMPORTANT!

Most people don't know that drowning is very silent. The person goes under, and no one is the wiser, because they expect it to involve shouting and lots of splashing from the one who is drowning. First instinct is to breathe, so the person drowning cannot yell. Another instinct is to stay above the water, and s/he does that by keeping his/her legs straight down and arms stretched out to the side. Because of this, the person does not splash. Be vigilant and learn the signs of drowning, you might save a life!

Announcements!

1. Sorry for the delay, it didn't feel like 6 months. Long story short, I tried to write a novel.

2. Comic will not happen. Too little interest and some readers said no.

3. Updates will be more regular now, b/c I finished the outline... mostly. Hoping to finish this fanfic by the end of April or May, 2015. Approx. 25 chapters total.

4. Possibility of a multi-chapter prequel! Depends on how much people want it. It would be mostly about the Alchemist.

5. You can check the next chapter's completion by going to my profile.

6. I will draw a multi-fandom comic. Hope to post sometime in January.

7. The skylight thing is a bit lame, tbh, I just didn't know what else to do.

8. UFO means anything flying and unidentifiable.

Please REVIEW!

I'd like to hear your THEORIES! What do you think about everything? Who knows, you might inspire me!


	8. Strange Magic

…Anyone still reading…? Yes? Oh thank goodness. Let's get right to it, shall we? Who wants to hear my excuses for why this is so extremely late, anyway?

* * *

><p>An intimidating bone-like vessel drifted down through the cloudy emerald-green atmosphere of Coralladal, its ominous aura impeding on the beautiful light and life of the jewel world. It sunk toward the temple that glowed until the ship came too close, sapping the building of its glory. But it did not stop there. The Citadel of Bone passed over, landing in an alien forest several kilometers away. A moment after touching down, a section of pale green bone unfurled at the ship's base and formed a ramp to the ground. A skeletal monster emerged, head high, his skull more hideous than ever. His face was triumphant, though irate.<p>

Several minutes after descending from his vessel, he spotted a white-robed figure walking toward him without any indication of a stride. The figure halted decidedly after making his way a few feet into the clearing. Skeleton King regarded the Veron Mystic with a sneer.

"Divine emissary," said Master Xan, bowing generously low, "may I ask the reason for your visit?"

"Get up, Xan, I needn't wait for your compliance any longer," Skeleton King snarled, his eyes narrowing further. "The time has come to corrupt the Power Primate."

* * *

><p>The air was rife with fright as civilians observed the standoff between the Super Robot, driven by Nova and Antauri, and a massive, winged sea creature. Miraculously, no more civilians were struggling in the water, having already been helped from it or were in the process of climbing out over the barrier. The monster attacked unrelentingly, lashing out with its claws and biting the robot's head and limbs. As its claws gripped the Super Robot's head and wrist, attempting to puncture the robot's arm with it's teeth, Nova shouted angrily over the communicator.<p>

"Guys, get in here!" she ordered. "The auto-crew is useless in a fight!"

Gibson shook his head and soared by jet pack to the robot, trepidation encompassing him. Sparx was nowhere in sight, and Chiro and Otto were stuck at the bottom of the lake, likely not willing to risk the lives of the others trapped with them by blasting their way out, choosing to wait for help until there was no choice left. Gibson felt like he'd swallowed an ice cube, racking his brains for a way to rescue his teammates from their precarious position beneath the water. There was still a chance. They could still save their teammates...if they hurried.

"Confirmed," said Gibson. "And I've located Chiro and Otto. They don't have much time!"

"Then get in here!" Nova commanded, as the monster let out another screech. "Oh no, you don't!"

Before the creature could move, a Foot Crusher dealt a swift kick to its stomach, knocking it down into the water.

"Opening the chest entryway!" announced Antauri over the communicator. A small round cavity in the robot's torso spun open, and Gibson zoomed straight inside.

"Watch out!"

Gibson had no time to brace himself: a monkey soared through the entrance and smacked his head right into Gibson's back, sending them both crashing to the floor in a heap.

"Urgh!"

"Ahhh! Sparx, watch out, would you!" Gibson admonished the red monkey while scrambling out from under the monkey and bounding over to his blue tube.

"Aw, Gibson, don'cha recognize me by now?" said an innocent voice. Gibson whirled around.

"Otto?" he gasped. He was just trapped! How did he get out? "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop screechy, scaly guy there," he said, sticking his thumb over his shoulder at the monster and, inadvertently, at Sparx and Chiro, the latter hanging onto the former's hands as they zoomed through the entrance.

"I-I mean to say, _how_ did you get out?" Confusion ran rampant in Gibson's mind. There were too many civilians...they were too far under the water...Chiro was an amateur swimmer...

"No time, Gibson. Everyone get to your positions!" Chiro commanded, dropping to the floor then dashing over to his tube, three monkeys following his lead. Gibson, though, wasn't about to leave the question unanswered — he'd have to ask again some other time.

Upon arriving at Fist Rocket Four, Gibson pressed several relevant buttons to disengage the auto-crew, and settled his hands and feet on the control sticks. By then, the anxiety had drained from his system, replaced quickly by relief, and he fell into an objective mindset. Antauri's deep voice boomed over the communicator once more:

"Gibson, what are we up against?"

The blue monkey studied the creature on the monitor. Its wingspan was easily over a hundred feet, and its skin was not really skin but lifeless-green scales.

"It appears to be reptilian, like the fabled Archulu. And the wings suggest it's capable of flight, however, considering the creature's apparent inclination to remain in water, there's a possibility the wings function as fins to enhance its swimming ability. Prepare to either fly or submerge."

Gibson finished rolling off his analysis and waited, poised to attack the monster. But it did not move. Archulu screeched once more, as though challenging them to make the first move.

"Why's it just standing there?" Nova called over the communicator. "Why isn't it attacking us?"

"That damn thing is taunting us!" Sparx burst out. "Let's take a shot, show him who's the _big kahuna_ around here!"

"Easy, Sparx," said Antauri. "Our goal is to protect, not destroy — unless, of course, it's necessary. If slow and steady will save more lives, then slow and steady we shall go."

"We need to be ready, team, but be cautious," said Chiro. "Aim the torso cannons. Launch on my call."

The cannons on the robot's shoulders flipped up into position, but Archulu suddenly and swiftly dived into the water, disappearing from view, hardly causing a ripple, as though it had never been there. For an unknown reason, this made Gibson feel like something was off about the situation.

"Follow him!"

The robot launched forward. Reaching the underwater cliff, the team left the shallow water and dove after Archulu into the depths of the lake. As the team traveled further down, the yellow searchlights in the robot's eyes flickered on.

"Urrrgh...I was kinda hoping we could avoid this..." groaned Sparx as a massive fish leisurely swam past him.

"Don't worry, we'll be outta here in no time," Nova reassured him.

"I dunno, I think it's kinda cool," Otto said, marveling at the underwater sights.

The water was bright and limpid, the yellow clay of the naturally occurring pillars reflecting the sunlight. Native Shuggazoomian fish and other massive marine life swam casually through the upper section of the lake, unconcerned by the much larger scaly creature swimming past at an incredible velocity.

"I've got a lock!" Otto shouted.

"Take the shot!" yelled Chiro.

"Firing!"

Four missiles shot forth, aimed perfectly at Archulu. Gibson held his breath as he anticipated the impact. Archulu screeched once more and the missiles exploded, resulting in a fiery cloud that dissipated within seconds. The water cleared up, and it was plain to see that the team had missed their target, Archulu nowhere in sight.

"Where'd he go?" questioned Otto. "It was aimed right for 'im!"

"Search for him. He couldn't have gotten far," answered Antauri.

The Super Robot rocketed around, past enormous rock formations and disgustingly ugly fish, but Archulu had simply vanished. It seemed like Sparx was right, the creature was playing with them, rather than attacking with all its might every moment of its existence. Gibson began to feel odd once more. Either his nerves were acting up, or something was wrong indeed. He quickly shook it off to focus on the task at hand.

Seconds turned into minutes, but the team was no closer to finding the monster. Strange, this was not normal behavior for Skeleton King's creations. Gibson wondered if the rest of his teammates had the same sense of impending doom.

_I, too, prefer to have remained on the surface._

"Where is he?" Chiro questioned, rhetorically. "Archulu's gotta be around here."

"He is curiously invisible to our radars. Setting for a higher frequency," Gibson announced, turning a knob on the control panel. The blue line moving across one of his screens pulsed with shorter wavelengths.

"I say we hang out on the surface. I don't like this," said Sparx, no doubt cringing in discomfort.

"I've got hyper-sonar contact," whispered Otto. An eerie silence settled upon the robot, but then came his startled yell. "It's comin' right at us!"

Indeed, Archulu was attempting to take them from behind, having somehow disappeared behind a rock formation, now rushing at them, strong fins beating posthaste.

"It's on the attack!" Antauri yelled. "Readying torso cannons!"

"Fire!"

Archulu was quick, though, crossing its arms protectively in front of his face to absorb the attack. In a flash, it snatched the robot's head in its sharp claws and shook them like a rag doll.

"It's got Antauri!"

Cold fear shot through Gibson and he slapped his paws over his ears as a sharp metallic screech cut harshly through the air. He heard the heavy _bang_ as Antauri was thrown from his seat and slammed into the roof of his vehicle. Gibson held his head in his hands, his brain spinning. He knew instantly what had happened: the Brain Scrambler had been ripped from the robot's neck. Gibson felt the tingle of panic rise in his chest, but he forced it down. Skeleton's Kings creations were usually not this agile, or rather, not such formidable combatants. Quick? Absolutely. A physical force to be reckoned with? Maybe. Clever? Absolutely not!

"Antauri!"

Gibson helplessly watched on his screen as Archulu's jaws clamped onto the Brain scrambler, it's massive, sharp teeth lancing the metal armor. In the instant the creature secured it's hold, it sped away from the robot, its finlike legs flapping to propel it through the water, Antauri in its clutches.

"It's got Antauri!" Chiro shouted. "Otto, quick!"

"Firing foot rockets!"

Gibson sensed everyone hold their breath in anticipation, but this attack failed did no better than the previous ones. Antauri, however, was not one to give up and wait to be rescued, but Gibson was still impressed when his friend yelled, "Activating brain scrambler mode!" and the thrust of his vehicle's rockets blasted Archulu in the mouth. Archulu relinquished its hold, and the Brain Scrambler shot away.

The second-in-command huffed audibly over the speaker, "Monkey team, I'm free."

Gibson breathed a sigh of relief. This monster was a viscous one. More clever than they had ever dealt with before. He opened his mouth, about to suggest they regroup and form an new plan before reengaging the beast, when he felt a spike of unease. Not a moment later, Antauri let out a blood-curdling scream, followed by Chiro's, striking Gibson to the core.

"Something's wrong with the Power Primate — Ugggh!"

"Come on, Gibson," Sparx called. "It's up to us, now."

"Understood Sparx." Gibson replied, feigning confidence with a smile. "Nice and easy."

The Brain Scrambler flew above the robot's neck, then landed. Together, Sparx and Gibson screwed the head back on and the robot's eyes glowed once more.

Nova timidly spoke over the speaker.

"Antauri? A-Are you okay?"

Her voice shook slightly. Gibson didn't blame her. He'd wager that if he tried to speak, no words would come out. What exactly happened with the Power Primate to cause such pain?

"I-I'll be fine," was Antauri's grumpy answer.

Archulu wasn't finished with them, rushing at them once more. The robot readied its fists.

"Come on, team," Otto growled, angry about the monster's attack on Antauri, "let's make seafood out of this squid-bag."

"Firing mega missiles — NOW!" Chiro yelled. The missiles struck Archulu, but it unsurprisingly caused no damage. They needed to figure out something now but wha —? A ledge caught Gibson's eye. There was a rock outcrop jutting out directly above Archulu's trajectory.

"Chiro!" Gibson shouted, pointing at the ledge. "The reef above Archulu!"

"Already on it."

A second later, the robot's antennae glowed then launched a beam at the reef, causing it to crumble right on top of Archulu, burying the monster in a watery grave. The water clouded up with dirt, but Gibson knew where the robot by checking one of his screens. He set course for the city.

"Wooohooo!" Sparx cheered over the speaker as they blasted through the water's surface. "Now let's get out of this mud-hole and go home."

* * *

><p>The team were gathered in the cool confines of the medical bay, having been hustled in there by Gibson soon after landing the Super Robot in their designated parking space within the city. The room was plain and obviously quite sterile. However, it was not off-putting, perhaps due to the moderate lighting, gray as opposed to white walls, and the fact that the only doctor there was Gibson, not some old man with freezing, wrinkled hands. The med bay was adjacent to Gibson's lab, likely the reason the room smelled faintly of chemicals as well as medicine. The meds were rarely used, however, since hardly anyone on the team ever got sick. Antauri also pushed for them to 'heal through the Power Primate,' rather than depend on medication. Most often the team used the supplies to help unfortunate citizens harmed in Skeleton King's attacks.<p>

Otto, Sparx and Nova sat on some chairs, chatting away aimlessly, throwing in a threat or two when one monkey got on another's nerves. They occasionally peered over at Antauri and the massive monitor, then turned back to the conversation. Chiro and Antauri were lying still on icy cold operating tables, probably bored out of their wits, though they could have been meditating for all the others knew. The only one seeming to do anything productive was Gibson, who busied himself with Antauri: unfastening the second-in-command's helmet to check for bruising on his brain; reading CAT scans; flashing a light in his eyes. He didn't want to take any chances. A head injury could be devastating. And with the Power Primate going haywire and all but frying both Antauri and Chiro-the monkey apparently getting the worst of it, his fur smoking after the energy attack-who was to say that nothing was wrong with Antauri?

Gibson hummed, analyzing different sections of a CAT scan, muttering to himself, hardly aware of anything else in the room. He'd given up on shutting the three chattering monkeys up a while ago and taken to drowning them out mentally.

"Hm...yes...alright...yes...yes..."

"My friend?"

"Hmmm?" Gibson looked round in a bit of a daze, having been roused from his train of thought. Antauri's hand was gently resting on Gibson's arm. "Yes, Antauri? I'm almost done, I just need to —"

"I think it is time we wrap this up. The sun is beginning to set and the others are becoming restless."

"This won't take much longer —"

"I'm fine," Antauri said with such finality that Gibson didn't argue. "I think we'd all like to go about our business soon, and perhaps go to bed early tonight. Otto can barely stay up in his chair."

He was right. The green monkey had slumped so far down that he was actually lying down rather than sitting. A giant snot bubble expanded and shrunk on his nostril as he breathed. A fat drop of drool hung from his mouth and had pooled a bit in the fur on his chest.

"Urgh."

"I also think Sparx wants to take a shower."

Gibson looked to Otto's left. The red monkey was carefully smelling the fur on his shoulder. He barely caught Sparx whisper, "Why do I smell like tuna?"

"Perhaps you're right," conceded Gibson. There was something he wanted to clear up anyway. "Then let's get on to a different matter."

"What 'matter'?"

Gibson and Antauri looked to Chiro, who was idly swinging his legs over the side of his table. He waited expectantly for either monkey to speak.

"Well, it's just, how exactly did the two of you escape your confinement?"

"Wait, wait a moment — what're you talking about, Gibson?" Nova cut in from across the room. She appeared to have just perked up from hearing their conversation. Beside her, Otto and Sparx listened attentively. "You said that they were in trouble, but you didn't say how?" She seemed to pose the question to anyone who could answer it.

"It's all a blur, I don't even get what happened," said Chiro, gripping his hair in one hand and furrowing his brow. "One second we're blinded by that _thing_ coming down like a red-hot meteor and the next we're pinned down underwater by this skylight with several others. I can't believe how lucky we were."

Otto grinned.

"It was a Christmas miracle!"

"It's spring, Otto."

"I _know_ that."

"Anyway," interrupted Gibson, "Otto, Chiro, what happened?"

They froze, mouths open, trying to decide how to start. Gibson found it almost painful waiting for them to finally choose the right words. He was quite curious. After all, he had sought help to rescue the pair, fighting back the urge to panic about the precarious situation. The others, however, seemed to be stuck on other parts of the conversation: Antauri looked pensive, a common occurrence; while Nova's eyes bulged in befuddlement; and Sparx stared at everyone in confusion. A second later, Chiro spoke:

"We calmed everyone down... then I tried to contact you, but my communicator was damaged. Otto's too, but you already know that — Are you going to use the Hyper Armor to create new communicators, Gibson?"

"Yes, and I'm close to achieving the right chemical composition. It shouldn't be too long now."

Chiro nodded.

"Right... So, well, Otto couldn't pull us all out, so we waited, and when you showed up —" he gestured to Gibson, "we knew that help was coming...only, it wasn't exactly who I was expecting —"

"Who was it?"

"Well, it wasn't you (obviously). Actually... Horacio was there — he helped two civilians swim to the surface. But that's not what's strange about it."

"Who's Horacio?" Nova asked. "You were trapped _where_?" but no one answered, because Gibson said, "There was something strange about your rescue?"

"Um, yeah... There was someone else with him. A woman. We couldn't see her face much 'cause she wearing a black robe and had her hood lowered too much to see who she was. But here's the strange part - the cracks in the skylight stopped leaking, and then when she pushed the metal beam off it was too easy for her — it must've weighed a ton — and she just shoved it off. The skylight soared to the surface."

"And so did we! It was like _magic_!" Otto shouted gleefully, jumping out of his seat and up onto Chiro's table.

"What?" said Sparx, eyebrow raised. "Say that again, Otto —"

"No. It _was_ magic," Otto had a look of awe on his face. He covered his mouth with his hands and gasped. "A magician saved us! And she made glowing snorkel-like bubbly things puff up on all our faces. Just — poof! And they were there! Made it really easy to breathe. She took care of the beam, the water rushed around us, and then we blasted up to the surface in two seconds flat! It was so cool..."

"The lack of oxygen must've caused you to hallucinate," Gibson said, factually. The story was absolute ludicrous, yet Otto was convinced magic had saved them. "Antauri, bring him to his senses."

"Is that really what happened?" Antauri asked Otto.

"It sure is!"

"There you go."

Gibson felt his fur bristle and his fists tighten.

"Preposterous! There's no such thing as magic!" Gibson snapped, frustrated. If there was one thing he disliked, it was a silly answer to a serious question. Magic, honestly — what was Otto thinking? It wasn't scientifically possible. Gibson rubbed his temples. He wanted answers not silly stories. He noticed Antauri move to speak, so he hurriedly said, "Chiro, how about _you_ tell us what happened next. Otto isn't making sense. I don't even know what's so _magical_ about it. It's odd at the most."

But Chiro seemed ill at ease; He twisted in his seat in an attempt to get more comfortable and wasn't making eye-contact. He spluttered, trying to find the right words. Gibson wondered what was so hard to say, but Chiro's manner was making him sweat. The idea that Chiro knew what Gibson was hiding leapt into his mind.

"Go on," Otto urged, sitting back on his haunches next to Chiro, "you saw what I did, for sure."

"I-I, um," Chiro mumbled. "I think that I, uh, kinda had the, u-uh, same..._hallucination_ as Otto..."

This worried Gibson. It was one thing for Otto to invent wild stories, but for Chiro to believe this one truly occurred?

"Then maybe I should get you both looked at after all? I knew I should've insisted on it, I am the one with the most experience in medicine and first aid. I don't know why I didn't notice the signs sooner of —"

"Awww, Gibson," Otto whined. "Why you have to be so uptight about everything? The breathing bubbles weren't there, and then they were! It was magic. That's all there is to it."

"So that's your explanation?" said Gibson, just to be sure. "You were rescued by two people who used magic to allow you to breathe underwater, to rid of the metal beam and to bring you to the surface in seconds."

"Well, yeah," said Chiro. Otto smiled.

"I knew you were just pretending not to understand, Gibson. You're too smart not to believe me."

"Otto..."

Gibson did not pursue the topic any further. It seemed that he had to have been there to understand. Sparx continued the conversation, explaining that he found Chiro and Otto on the surface and together they flew to the robot. When all was said, the team stood up to go their separate ways around the robot. As Gibson got up to head for his lab, a reminder pegged his brain like a dart. He spun around and nearly knocked into Antauri, who jumped, startled.

"Oh! Antauri, we forgot to analyze the pros and cons of the team's performance on the battle field today. Shall I round everyone back up?"

Antauri blinked.

"What? Oh, yes, we did. Never mind about that today."

The team typically recapped every battle as soon as they were bandaged up and out of med bay. Gibson had assumed today would be no exception.

"Since when does it not matter? I, for one, noticed several mistakes and other intriguing points that ought to be brought to attention —"

"I have to go, Gibson. I have something important to take care of."

"Oh. Oh, all right."

The black monkey left without another word. Leaning against the doorframe, Gibson sighed and rubbed his temples again.

"Oh dear, too many strange occurrences for one day," he murmured. "Perhaps it'll all make sense in the morning...hopefully, I'll forget it all by morning..."

* * *

><p>AN

_Updated: May 21, 2015_

Be careful there, Gibby, or you'll end up sounding like Mr. Dursley, and no one wants that :P

Things you might be wondering:

Why did ~Wings~ bother with writing out SK arriving at Coralladal?

What really went down when Chiro and Otto were rescued?

Who is Horacio? Who was the woman with him?

How does magic fit into all this?

What will Gibson do with the information he's gathered?

I'm not going to promise when updates will be anymore, as I tend to post more often when I don't set any sort of deadline. I am hopeful about finishing it this year, though, but no promises. After all, I had said that this would be done by the end of April, and it certainly isn't.

There may be companion fics to this story: The Alchemist's life; Jinmay's origin; the lives of the team before SK; the first month of fighting SK with Chiro there. I may write them all, I may write 1 or 2, or I may write none at all. Depends on how I feel when SM is finished.

Hurray! I can now reveal some things that might have happened so far that I changed or deleted b/c of editing:

1. Otto nearly drowns, but is resuscitated by Chiro. Changed to Horacio saving Otto. Changed to Chiro nearly drowning. Situation changed to them both being in danger of drowning.

2. Gibson and Sparx are worried about Chiro having flashbacks, but I couldn't figure out how to write it in, so I didn't.

3. Using the robot, the team saves everyone trapped under the skylight. The mysterious rescuer does not show up.

4. Horacio only shows up once. (I wish I had changed his name to something else. I had picked a new name for him, but I liked it so much that I'm saving it for a novel instead. In the end, I couldn't find a reasonable way to give him a new name anyway.)

5. This quote was part of a deleted joke: "I think this city needs to invest in swimming lessons."


	9. Midnight Wandering

_"Here, Chiro. You'll need this soon enough."_

_"What is it?"_

_The boy curiously turned over the little oval device in his hands. It had the shape of the Hyper Force's emblem, but it was more than a simple trinket._

_"It's your communicator and tracker. At any time, you may press this button and speak to the rest of us. But if you press it like this — Well, let me show you. Put it on. Yes, there. Now, press it like this."_

_Gibson pressed the emblem as if it were one large button. In a flash, Chiro's attire changed into a proper fighting uniform: a white jacket, an orange scarf, and fighting boots and gloves._

_"You made this _yourself_?" said Chiro incredulously, eyes wide in wonder._

_"Does that surprise you?"_

_"N-no!" Chiro nearly shouted, throwing his hands out in worry. "It's just — Otto seems more like the mechanic, robot-engineer type. You're more theory, chemistry, biology. I-I just figured you made it together."_

_"Don't worry," said Gibson, laying a hand on Chiro's arm in comfort and chuckling hastily. "I meant it in good humour."_

_Chiro looked away and fidgeted with his fingers._

_"H-how does it work?"_

_Gibson beamed. He hardly ever got a chance to explain how any of his inventions operate. His teammates tended to fall asleep while he spoke. The fact that the boy was continuing the conversation was reassuring. Chiro caught his smile and his fidgeting ceased._

_"Come on, Chiro. Let's go to my lab. I'll show you how to make one on your own. You'll need spares anyway. And we can get a head start on your lessons. Under my tutelage, you'll be creating your own inventions with ease in no time at all!"_

_"You really think so?"_

_Gibson smiled proudly and crossed his arms._

_"I know so."_

_Chiro smiled back at him — a genuinely elated smile that filled Gibson with jubilation._

_"I believe this is the start of a beautifully _innovative_ friendship."_

* * *

><p>The night air was chilly, a stark contrast to the raging heat during the daylight hours. The Hyper Force were all laid to bed, or so it seemed to the midnight strollers passing by the robot. Within the confines of the metal giant, a blue monkey was curled up in his pod-like bed, holding a vial containing a particularly special pink chemical. He idly rolled the glass around in his hands, the liquid slushing about, as he pondered over events of that day and many, many days before.<p>

A small smile flitted across Gibson's tiredly sagging face before quickly disappearing. The plan seemed so simple back when it all started: The Chosen One wakes up the team, the team trains the new leader, they all defend Shuggazoom, they defeat Skeleton King and it all ends happily ever after. Gibson huffed. They had been fools. They had expected to be woken by a full-grown adult trained in combat. Instead, they had received a mild-mannered thirteen-year-old — a _child_ — with no training whatsoever, who, thanks to his new-found abilities, traveled over to the land of bumptiousness and back. But it was also that same child who had absolutely stolen the hearts of the team.

Gibson hadn't anticipated becoming attached to the leader in the way he had. They were meant to act as a special-ops unit, a rescue team — anything but a family. He was shocked to admit to himself that he saw Chiro as a little brother, but at the same time he found something enjoyable in the thought. His practically-hairless primate relation. He wasn't sure how the rest of the team felt about Chiro — no, that wasn't true. Sparx felt the same, if not stronger, about Chiro. But then what did that make Gibson — the uncle?

Sparx valued Chiro's trust immensely, Gibson knew. He had been the first to truly welcome Chiro into the team. Not so much as leader, but as a friend and teammate. And now as a brother. Sparx didn't want to lose that bond. He couldn't let Chiro know that he had told Gibson his secret or else that might happen.

Perhaps he was thinking too much about it. Perhaps Sparx was overreacting. He thought back to the argument they'd several hours earlier in his lab after a strangely quiet dinner with the team:

_Gibson was just passing through the automatic door into his lab, whistling absentmindedly, when it happened: Something roughly shoved into his back, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him inside. Regaining his breath, Gibson saw Sparx behind him, who slammed his fist on a blue button, locking the door._

_"S-P-R-X-77, what in Shuggazoom's name —!" Gibson started, but Sparx smashed his palm over the blue monkey's mouth._

_"I'm not gonna beat around the bush, Gibson. I've been waiting all evening," he ground out, "to tell you that Chiro is on to us."_

_Gibson's eye's widened substantially and he tried to speak through Sparx's hand, but only managed to make muffled sounds of denial. When Gibson gave up, Sparx dropped his hold, his expression more serious than he had ever seen, and spoke gravely._

_"I have no idea how Chiro will react when he finds out what I told you — and he will find out, what with you avoiding him like there's something _wrong_ with him! He thinks he did something to get on your bad side. He was asking Otto why you're avoiding him, why you ran away earlier. Otto told him to ask you about it!"_

"_He-he did —?"_

"_And it damn well looks like he's going to do that!"_

_"I'll come up with a solution...The situation isn't as bad as it seems. I'll pretend that something else is going on."_

_Sparx's nostrils flared as he fixed Gibson with penetrating eyes, the kind a police officer gives a suspect during an interrogation. Gibson, who usually challenged Sparx's displays of power and intimidation without fear, felt quite meek._

_"Didn't you hear me? Chiro thinks that _he's_ the problem. He shouldn't be thinking that! If anyone's the problem, it's me! And he's going to ask you about what we're hiding! I don't know how he'll take it! Remember when we all met Jinmay and it looked like she was a spy? Don't you remember feeling the rage rolling off him? He'd only known her for a day! What about us? We've known him for a year! We're family now! How's he going to react to _our_ betrayal?"_

Gibson was interrupted by a gurgle erupting from his stomach. He was famished, but he wasn't in the mood for a snack. He needed to sleep, but he couldn't shut his brain down long enough to accomplish that. Sighing, he rolled himself out of bed. Rubbing his hands over his face, he left his room and headed for his lab, for no other place could provide him with a better opportunity to clear his head. When in doubt, work with highly volatile chemicals. Well, that's what worked for him. He'd have a heart attack if Otto were to attempt to mix chemicals while halfway to the land of Nod.

The hall was pitch-black, bar the moonlight and the tiny red lights of the security cameras.

At night, when all the lights were turned off, panels around the robot opened up, revealing hidden windows. Soft white moonlight was drifting through them, casting an ethereal glow on all it touched. It was calming. Gibson found he quite liked it. It was Chiro's idea, and Gibson had built them in with Otto's help. The team felt less restricted with the windows and more ready to connect with the people they were meant to protect, if only by looking outside at the city lights.

Tip-toeing down the hallway was a feat with metal feet, his toes clicking each time they made contact with the tile floor. Gibson cringed as he heard a loud snort sound off in Otto's room. It wasn't until he had past Nova's room that he realized he wasn't the only monkey out of bed.

At the end of the hall, beside the tube and facing the last bedroom was a monkey-shaped silhouette. The figure stood in front of the arched doorway like a soldier at ease. Gibson's first thought was that Nova had gotten up to check on Chiro, but as he crept nearer to the other monkey, realized the other was Antauri. Strange — the monkey appeared pensive, but he hadn't assumed the lotus position as he usually did when deep in thought.

After a dozen paces, Gibson was beside the second-in-command, who didn't spare him a glance. Gibson coughed lightly into his fist and waited, slightly annoyed that the monkey hadn't acknowledged him. Antauri continued to face the door, arms crossed behind his back. To any other, Antauri might've appeared expressionless, but being part of the same team for so long, Gibson could just make out the minuscule frown on his muzzle.

"He's sleeping well," Antauri whispered. Gibson jolted from the sudden sound.

"You can sense that, can you?" It was somewhat rhetorical, but Antauri answered anyway with an affirmative murmur. Gibson waited for him to speak again. When he didn't, he asked another question. "What's keeping you awake, my friend?"

Antauri didn't say anything at all that time, but the slight furrowing of his brow told Gibson plenty — something was troubling the monkey. Again, he waited for an answer. One minute. Another minute. A few more minutes. The two remained still, both caught in their own thoughts. The only sign of life was the rise and fall of their chests accompanied by soft exhales. Finally, Anaturi spoke.

"Gibson...do you ever think back to our first encounter with Chiro?"

Gibson's brow furrowed in concern.

"Antauri, are you all right?" he asked tentatively.

"_Do_ you, Gibson?" Antauri pushed.

This was quite unlike the wise monkey, whose attention was always so focused but was now split between Gibson and whatever occupied his mind. He wasn't even facing the scientist, gazing at the door, so lost to his troubles.

"I can't say I do," said Gibson. "I typically think of the months following that day."

"Is there anything you would have done differently?"

"Perhaps been more welcoming from the off, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Chiro and I are getting along very...well at this point anyhow, so I don't see why it matters. Is there a reason you're asking me these questions?"

Antauri did not answer for a long time. His breathing was slow and even. Gibson watched him, waiting for an answer, and, after a while, resigned for a sign of whether he should stay or go. Eventually, he turned to leave, believing he must have been dismissed, when Antauri spoke quietly.

"I made several decisions in those first few days of meeting him. I'm beginning to wonder if they were the right decisions."

"Oh, _please_, Antauri, you make better decisions than anyone else I know," Gibson interrupted, offering a positive guffaw as though Antauri's concerns were unfounded. He hadn't the foggiest idea as to what Anaturi was referring, but he felt uneasy around the solemn, discomposed monkey. "What could you have possibly done wrong?"

"Thank you, but I believe I should've gone about things differently than I did..."

"Such as...?" Gibson pushed when Antauri didn't speak. This conversation was getting tedious.

Antauri slowly turned his head to look at Gibson. He smiled wearily.

"I have my secrets."

"Didn't Chiro once go through a phase of keeping secrets? And you attempted to get him to understand that secrets should not be kept from the rest of the team. Aren't you afraid of being hypocritical?"

This seemed to cause Antauri to become fully alert, as he fixed his gaze on Gibson and raised an eyebrow — a look that plainly said, for lack of a better phrase, 'Are you freaking serious right now?'

"Aren't _you_?"

Gibson's mouth suddenly felt dry. Did Antauri know —?

"W-what on Shuggazoom do you mean, Antauri?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean," said Antarui sharply. "You wish for me to reveal my secrets, yet you and Sparx are hiding the fact that he told you about Chiro's near-drowning — something Chiro wished to be kept secret."

"You know about that!"

"You didn't think he wouldn't bring it up with me? I admit, I have only become something of a confidant for him in recent months. Sparx was more open to taking on the role in the beginning, there wasn't even any need to ask him to do it, however, Chiro ended up sharing much of his life with me as well... There are things about his past that only I know, things that Chiro has elected not to tell the rest of you.

"Like any other person would be, Chiro has been scarred by traumatic moments in his life. You may not have noticed this, as he doesn't seem to be anymore downcast than anyone else. I have helped him to overcome pain associated with the memories, put them aside where his mind does not wander, and accept what has happened, bit by bit. This, I believe, is why Chiro has told me so much about his past.

"But there are some things that I cannot — or rather, should not — fix... The balance of this team is becoming more and more unsteady, Gibson. I hope you will soon mend the situation. This is not my problem to remedy." He placed his feet on the ground once more. "I may have secrets, but they are not as simple as yours. Over time, yours can be easily forgotten. Mine, on the other hand, can't be, and so they will remain secrets until the time is right to reveal them. History is unchangeable. And though we dearly wish to make life better, we can only do that in the present, not in the past."

Gibson thought about this for a while. Perhaps postponing the inevitable would make the inevitable that much worse than it would have been had he come out with it in the first place. But there were still more questions he felt compelled to pose.

"Antauri, may I ask you one more thing?"

"Go on, Gibson."

"Why would you second guess your choices now? You believed you acted accordingly before, when we first met Chiro." If Antauri hadn't been acting oddly, then Gibson would've said his friend looked like he was contemplating something simple, like the weather or what to buy at the grocery store. But he knew that Antauri was mulling over the question carefully.

"I'm a different monkey now, Gibson. I can see it myself. I question a past choice of mine because my soul has changed in a way that I did not anticipate. I can't help but wonder what it means..."

Antauri frowned, and then something strange happened: Gibson felt the Power Primate ebb. It was slight, so unnoticeable that had he been asleep he never would've known it had happened. The problem was, it didn't have the same pleasant vibe. He wasn't nearly as in-tune with the Power Primate as Antauri or Chiro, but this didn't feel right. It felt wrong in a way that he couldn't comprehend.

Antauri's face contorted awkwardly — or perhaps it was awkward because Antauri usually didn't make such expressions — like he was guilty of something.

Then he heard a terrible moan coming from through Chiro's door. It was quiet, he'd almost missed it, and he strained his ears to make sure he hadn't imagined it, but Antauri was already moving through automatic door which was confirmation enough. There was another moan, followed by the rustle of blankets and movement on the large circular bed. Antauri was at Chiro's side in an instant. Gibson sensed his hesitation as he laid a hand on Chiro's shoulder and gently shook him, quietly urging him to awaken.

Gibson didn't move, feeling like he'd be intruding if he went in — it wasn't his place. He watched Chiro bolt up in his bed, gasping as if he'd been out sprinting in the summer sun. Antauri sat on the bed and put a hand on Chiro's other shoulder while he whispered comforting words and questions. Chiro kept his head down, nodding every so often, his bangs shielding his eyes.

Gibson retreated quickly and quietly over to the tube and headed to the kitchen. He wasn't needed and probably not wanted at the moment. Once there, he stuck a bag of popcorn in the microwave and poured a glass orange juice. He slumped down onto a chair to eat his snack, then realized, popcorn halfway to his mouth, that Chiro wasn't feeling well and would likely appreciate comfort food as well. He poured two more glasses of juice, dumped half the popcorn in another bowl and snatched up a bar of chocolate, then put everything on a tray which he carried with him to Chiro's room. It was the least he could do.

But when he stuck his head inside the bedroom, he saw a peaceful scene that he hoped he wouldn't disturb: Antauri was looking down at a soundly sleeping Chiro and brushing back the boy's bangs. Gibson cautiously walked over to the pair and set the tray on the nightstand. Picking up his own bowl of popcorn and glass of juice, he turned to leave, giving a polite smile to Antauri, who did not acknowledge him, then did a double take — Antauri was frowning. Gibson dearly wished to ask him what was wrong and if it had to do with Chiro's nightmare, but with another glance at his leader, decided against it. He could ask his questions another time.

He wandered out of the room, back to his own, where he snacked and realized at some point that he'd intended to go to his lab, not the kitchen, then figured he was ready to fall asleep anyway. He drained the last of his juice, then lay down in his bed, the vial filled with the pink chemical once again in his arms.

* * *

><p>AN

_Posted: July 6, 2015_

We won the World Cup! Booyah!

Only about 2 more chapters and we'll be done with Part 1! Things are really going to start blowing up!

Edit:

Yo,

Am I going too slow?

I just need to know.


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